US says Sudan elections ‘not fair and free’, shifts focus to 2011 referendum

April 19, 2010 (WASHINGTON) — The United States said today that the elections held in Sudan’s over the last week were “neither free nor fair” and suggested that it has now shifted its focus on the 2011 referendum for the South in accordance with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed between the North and the South.

The Sudanese people had five days to vote for their president as well as legislative and local representatives in the country’s first multi-party election since 1986 which ended on Thursday.

Several heavyweight opposition groups boycotted the elections and even those who participated announced later they will not recognize its results alleging fraud and vote rigging.

International election observers from the Carter Center and the European Union (EU) said last weekend that the polls had failed to reach international standards but that nonetheless they should be recognized.

Early results from the election, suggest President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and his National Congress Party (NCP) are headed for a landslide victory. Bashir is seeking reelection to gain legitimacy in face of the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant issued for him on charges of war crimes in Darfur.

“This was not a free and fair election,” said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. “It did not, broadly speaking, meet international standards.”

“That said, I think we recognize that the election is a very important step” toward carrying out a 2005 peace deal that gave the south autonomy, a share of oil revenues and a route to independence via referendum by January 2011, he told reporters.

Crowley said many of those elected in the Sudanese poll, however flawed it may have been, would play important roles in whether “we have a credible referenda process that, quite honestly, is likely to yield the emergence of a new country.”

His comment was an allusion to the widely held expectation that southern Sudan will choose to secede from the north.

“So while we understand that there were flaws and failures in terms of this electoral process, we will recognize that there is a lot of work to be done,” he said. “The United States will continue to work with the government in the north, the government in the south, as we move forward with … the vitally important referenda that’ll happen in January of next year.”

Crowley’s mark offered a more downbeat assessment of the elections than the US special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration who hailed the electoral commission and expressed confidence that the polls would be held in a fair and free manner.

Gration met this afternoon with US president Obama at the White House for the first time since his return from Sudan. The White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs has told reporters that a statement would be released on the meeting.

In a separate statement, the United States, Britain and Norway said Sudan’s elections were marred by poor preparation and other suspected irregularities and they called on Sudanese officials to take to fully implement the 2005 peace accord.

“We note initial assessments of the electoral process from independent observers, including the judgment that the elections failed to meet international standards,” the three countries, guarantors of the peace deal, said in a statement.

“We are reassured that voting passed reasonably peacefully, reportedly with significant participation, but share their serious concerns about weak logistical and technical preparations and reported irregularities in many parts of Sudan,” the statement said.

The three countries noted the limited access of observer missions in Darfur and voiced regret that electoral officials did not do more to address such problems before the voting.

“It is essential to build upon the progress made so far to expand democratic space in Sudan,” the statement said, adding that Sudanese officials should “draw lessons” to ensure future polls and a referendum due next year on independence for South Sudan do not suffer from the same flaws.

(ST)