1.2 million new voters register for Sudan’s 2015 elections: NEC

November 13, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s National Election Commission (NEC) has announced that 1.2 million new voters have been registered across the country.

The NEC was forced to extend the registration period for four days, which will now end on 15 November, due to limited registration. It directed all election committees to open registration centres close to student dorms.

Sudan’s general elections are set to be held in April 2015, but opposition parties are refusing to participate.

The have instead called for the formation of a transitional government and a national conference to be held with the participation of rebel groups to discuss a peaceful solution to the long-running conflicts in the Darfur region, as well as South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

In accordance with the opposition platform, the interim government would organise general elections once a political agreement on constitutional matters is reached, inaugurating a new democratic regime.

On the other hand, the NEC and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) reject any postponement to the electoral process, saying it would create a constitutional vacuum and cause chaos in the country.

The NEC registration official, al-Hadi Mohamed Ahmed, said the figures coming from high election committees in various states show that more than 1.2 million new voters have been registered, noting that names of 8,586 voters have been changed and 14,939 others were removed from the election registry in all states.

He told the pro-government Sudan Media Centre (SMC) website on Thursday that the registration centers in the capital Khartoum and the various states continue to receive people to check their names besides registering those who had not met registration requirements in 2009.

The NEC has extended the registration period for four days at the request of the People’s Congress Party (PCP) led by Hassan al-Turabi and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) led by Mohamed Osman al-Mirghani to allow their members to register for election.

Meanwhile, the DUP spokesperson, Ibrahim al-Mirghani, said his party leader directed party members inside Sudan and abroad to register for election, denying that registration means participation in the upcoming elections.

He renewed his party’s declared position with regard to the election, saying their participation in the election is contingent upon achieving the national consensus according to the initiative launched by the party leader.

“The registration process is aimed at preserving and compounding the number of the DUP voters in any future election whether we decided to participate in it or boycott it,” he added.

Sudan Tribune recalls that around 10 million people voted in the 2010 election out of the 19.8 million who were eligible to vote. This number includes voters from South Sudan which became an independent state since 2011.

Registration centers which amount to 7,133 centres in various states include election registry for about 11.6 million voters who were registered since 2010 election. The registry will be open for names change, removal or appeal until next Tuesday.

(ST)