Jimmy Carter meets at presidential palace with Bashir

February 9, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – Former US President Jimmy Carter today met at the presidential palace in Khartoum with President Omer Hassan Al Bashir, the only sitting Head of State indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. The former US leader is on a four-day visit to Sudan to inspect two sets of Carter Center programs: elections monitoring and health care efforts to eradicate Guinea Worm disease.

In statements to reporters following the meeting, Carter said that his talk with the President of the Republic dealt with the elections scheduled for next April. He pointed out that his Carter Center is monitoring the elections and that his meeting with Bashir comes in the context of the Sudanese leader’s capacity as a candidate in this election, the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reported.

Carter added that they had received confirmation from the President and the concerned ministers about the security of the electoral process and the work of observers, according to SUNA. The former U.S. president said the meeting also tackled the situation in Darfur.

According to Carter, the international monitors sent by his institute will be “a major partner” to the National Elections Commission (NEC), although they have no authority over the NEC.

“I have been briefed by Sudan’s National Elections Commission (NEC) on progress of the electoral process. I will do my best to support this democratic experience,”, the agency Xinhua reported. He added, “we have a lot of experience, but our authority and our directions are coming from the NEC itself.”

NEC Deputy Chairman Abdalla Ahmed Abdalla appeared alongside Carter at the conference and made some remarks of his own.

The former US president is also scheduled to meet Sudanese First Vice-President Salva Kiir Mayardit and a number of other political leaders.

The US-based Carter Center has been the only international monitoring body in Sudan throughout the elections preparations, but it will be joined by a European Union contingent of more than 100 monitors for the voting period in April.

(ST)