Sudan says voter turnout improving, election count to start Friday

April 13, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan’s electoral board announced today that counting of the ballots will kick off on Friday with final results announced on Tuesday April 20. Already twenty-seven unidentified candidates have won by acclamation, the commission said.

The deputy chairman of the National Elections Commission (NEC) was quoted by Sudan official news agency (SUNA) Abdulla Ahmed Abdulla, as hailing the voting process saying it is improving remarkably throughout the country.

Abdulla said that voter turnout exceeded 65% in several states noting that the NEC meeting today Tuesday reviewed voting progress and the difficulties encountered at the third day of the elections. He said that voting is progressing smoothly in Darfur and south Sudan.

Voting kicked off on Sunday to a chaotic start, prompting the NEC to prolong the voting process by two-days to end on Thursday. The commission also announced today that it is freezing elections in some areas because of logistical issues.

Election monitors across Sudan said early voting had been affected by missing ballot boxes, poorly trained staff and confusion over the location of voting centers. Officials and observers also said that in both the south and north, names missing from the electoral register was a major problem.

The NEC however, gave turnout figures on Tuesday of 67 percent in Northern state and 60 percent in Jonglei and 65 percent in Unity states in the south.

Abdulla said that the commission is reviewing the performance and adopting immediate measures to resolve any issues, adding that the technical and administrative mistakes are decreasing remarkably

Two fraud cases were reported by the NEC near the capital and police complaints were filed against the suspects. Earlier today, the former US president Jimmy Carter , who is leading a team of 70 observers, said that there are logistical problems but there has been no proven fraud.

The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) acknowledged there was low turnout in some regions, particularly in the south, but said participation in Khartoum and other areas was encouraging.

“I think that in some areas in the south the turnout may be a bit weaker … with the logistics problems and transport problems and the high illiteracy rate,” senior NCP official Ibrahim Ghandour told Reuters.

“But overall, the voting process is going on very well. There is a very peaceful atmosphere and a considerable rush from the voters in some areas.”

(ST)