Opposition delivers petition against alleged voter fraud in S.Kordofan despite clampdown

February 27, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese security authorities on Sunday prevented opposition groups from staging a protest against alleged anomalies in voter-registration in the volatile, north-south border state of South Kordofan.

Opposition parties led mainly by the northern sector of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), which controls the soon-to-be independent region of South Sudan, claimed that the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in north Sudan had tampered with voter records in South Kordofan to prepare the ground for greater rigging in favor of its candidates during the actual vote.

Gubernatorial and provincial elections in South Kordofan state was supposed to be held as part of Sudan’s national elections in April last year but the vote was postponed due to disagreements between the NCP and the SPLM over the population census and delimitation of geographical constituencies.

April’s elections, which were mired in mass fraud and boycotted by mainstream opposition parties, saw President Al-Bashir and his NCP re-elected with an almost absolute majority in parliament.

Eye witnesses told Sudan Tribune that more than 100 security men in civilian outfits and police members had raided the offices of the SPLM’s northern sector in Khartoum at 10:30 am and evicted its staff in an effort to preempt their protest.

The leader of the SPLM’s northern sector, Yasir Arman, said in a press conference on Sunday that security forces also prevented his supporters from approaching the headquarters of the National Elections Commission (NEC) in downtown Khartoum.

“They turned the commission [HQ] into a security and military garrison,” Arman said, adding that that it was “a violation of the constitution, a violation of human rights, it is what’s happening in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.”

However, Arman said he had managed with a couple of representatives of nine opposition parties from reaching NEC headquarters and delivering a petition against irregularities in voter-registration.

Sudan Tribune has also learned that an altercation took place at NEC HQ between Arman group and a security officer who attempted to prevent them from meeting NEC’s chairperson Abel Alier. The situation was resolved when NEC’s deputy chairman Abdulla Ahmad Abdulla intervened and allowed Aramn and his group to meet Alier and deliver their petition.

The petition alleged the illicit inclusion of 38.374 voters in the electoral register in 20 geographical constituencies as well as the removal of 12 geographical constituencies with 20.044 voters. According to the petition, there is a gap of 58.880 voter names between the official register and the one produced lately.

Yasir Arman accused the NCP of attempting to rig the electoral register in order to allow its candidates to win the elections, warning that failure to address the situation in South Kordofan would lead to a “popular uprising” in the area.

He further announced plans to hold peaceful demonstration in South Korodfan in the next few days to demand free and fair elections.

Meanwhile, the NCP has challenged the opposition to produce evidence proving its claims of rigging, and warned the SPLM against “using” northern opposition parties to put pressure on the NCP.

The NCP’s secretary of political mobilization, Haj Magid Siwar, said that the opposition claims demonstrate their “weakness.” He further warned that the SPLM should not use northern opposition groups.

“It is in the SPLM’s best interest to refrain from resorting to this tactic and to continue its dialogue and partnership with the NCP until the last moment in the interim period in order to maintain good relations between north and south,” Siwar said.

North Sudan parliament this month dropped the membership of SPLM’s members despite the fact that the interim period stipulated under the 2005’s CPA is due to end in July this year.

(ST)