Sudan’s NEC makes arrangements for 2015 elections

July 9, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s National Elections Commission (NEC) announced it has embarked on preparations and arrangements for holding the 2015 elections according to the law and constitution.

Sudan’s general elections are set to be held in April 2015 but opposition parties threatened to boycott it saying the National Congress Party (NCP) holds absolute control over power and refuses to make any compromise to end the civil war and allow public liberties.

After conflicting statements from government officials, the Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir emphasized last week that there will be no postponement for next year’s elections and even berated NCP officials who suggested otherwise.

Last week, Bashir issued a presidential decree naming Mukhtar al-Asam chairman of the NEC and Abdallah Adam Mahdi as deputy chairman. He also Bashir also appointed Safwat Fanus and Atta Allah Hamad Bashir members of the NEC.

Al-Asam, in the NEC first meeting on Wednesday, reviewed several measures and procedures for completing the commission’s administrative and technical strucutres.

The NEC deputy chairman, Abdallah Ahmed Mahdi, told reporters following the meeting that the commission would carry out its work with high degree of transparency and integrity.

He said the meeting renewed confidence in the NEC secretary general, Jalal Mohamed Ahmed, who assigned the members to their tasks and functions, saying elections will be held as scheduled according to the law.

The NEC member who is tasked to contacts with political parties, Safwat Fanus, said the electoral committees at the states level will be reconstituted according to the law.

He pointed that the commission’s first meeting discussed several issues and tasks directly related to its work in the coming period.

(ST)