Darfur IDPs are comprised in 2010 electoral constituencies – official

July 26, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — Northern Darfur Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have been included in the electoral constituencies in order to allow them to participate in 2010 elections, the state committee said today.

Sudan electoral commission announced last week that the demarcation had been completed in the 15 northern Sudan states besides Eastern and Western Equatoria states in southern Sudan.

The chairman of North Darfur higher electoral committee, Al-Sir Ahmed Al-Mak, said today they delineated 14 constituencies for the election of national parliament and 29 constituencies for the regional chamber.

Ahmed pointed out that North Darfur IDPs have been comprised in the demarcation process of geographical constituencies which had been based on the result of the fifth national census, stressing that 98% of the state population have been concerned by the census.

However, the census director in West Darfur, Ms Wafaa Hassan Mansour said the census will not be conducted in IDP camps in the war-ravaged region because they are “not accessible.”

She further said that IDPs have protested the census inside the camps and have threatened to attack census enumerators, the Central Bureau of Statistics has decided to estimate the number of people in the camps and other “unsafe” areas based on information from humanitarian agencies working in Darfur.

The rebel SLM-Unity had arrested 13 census enumerators on May 2, 2008 in Shairiah, south Darfur. The rebels released them two weeks later.

Darfur rebel groups, which had demanded postponement of census till the signing of a peace deal, expressed they opposition to the census operations in Darfur.
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(ST)