Scholar fears free and fair election impossible in Sudan

By Isaac Vuni

May 6, 2009 (JUBA) — Presenting a paper on elections in Sudan, historian Dr. Justin Willis recounted that the election of 1953 was held under difficult circumstances with much suspicion and tension, limited time and resources, tying his discussion to the present day when elections are expected to be held in February 2010.

Willis, a historian from the University of Durham, is currently seconded to position of Director of the British Institute in Eastern Africa, in Nairobi. He, along with scholars Peter Woodward and Atta el-Battahani, is the author of a newly released report titled “Elections in Sudan: Learning from experience,” which was commissioned from the Rift Valley Institute by the UK Government Department for International Development.

Addressing southern political parties, legislators, local and international organizations including journalists at the “blue room” of the regional Assembly, he described a legacy of massive malpractice witnessed under authoritarian regimes, manipulation of voting by uneducated persons and improper use of influence and resources of public servants during elections.

Moreover, he observed that in this election there would be a complex process for registration of voters, nomination of candidates, objections, organization and counting of ballots.

Sudan’s past multiparty elections presented complex logistical challenges partly due to the large size of the country, compounded low levels of education among southern Sudanese, leading to widespread suspicion of the few educated government officials involved in running multi-party elections.

Dr. Willis and team noted that there was a shortfall of trained staff and transportation, some potential voters live far from registration centre or polling centers while other voters were reluctant to register as they feared dealing with officials.

He recounted that historically agents of candidates in most cases stepped in to register voters and transport them to voting centers, while the level of voter participation was low in southern, western and eastern Sudan, in all multiparty elections.

Given also the chronic internal disorganization of major parties, unforeseen election consequences could arise.

Since 1953 elections in the Sudan have fallen far short of bringing together citizens, he said, though the 1986 election was considered by some educated northern Sudanese as having offered genuine inclusive democratic participation, but for southerners there was no election in the areas held by the insurgency.

Hence, there is a strong possibility that the forthcoming elections will suffer weaknesses that have undermined previous elections as the public are suspicion of possible malpractice based on their experience in previous authoritarian elections and immense logistical challenges, suggested the historian.

In Willis’ report for the Rift Valley Institute, he suggests that if the election process lacks credibility, it is hard to see how the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement could survive. The report points to the Kenyan elections held in December 2007 as showing how a multiparty process eroded quickly into violence once the public lost confidence in whole electoral procedure, its transparency, and inclusiveness.

He thus advised that the coming elections should be organized in a transparent way to ensure inclusion of all kinds of voters in all regions.

He recalled that those who drafted the new Elections Act of 2008 were aware of previous malpractice incurred, such as by single day ballot box counting at polling stations that created forestalling, ballot box stuffing and switching.

Other important recommended measures included ensuring press freedom and equal media access, freedom of movement and association to allow proper campaigning, and preventing improper use of government resources in campaigning.

The report further called on international community to support in provision of transport, training election staff, production of voters cards, ensuring sufficient election materials are available at all polling stations, training of candidate agents at a constituency level and introducing innovative use of modern communications technologies (internet and mobile telephones) for directly reaching potential voters.

(ST)