Sudan’s electoral body says upcoming election to cost 800m pounds
November 21, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s National Election Commission (NEC) said the upcoming general election will cost about 800 million pounds (SDG), stressing that 13.3 million voters have registered for the election.
They have instead called for the formation of a transitional government and convening 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 organize 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 chairman, Mukhtar al-Asam, said on a talk show aired by the state-run Radio Omdurman on Friday there will be a permanent voter registry for the first time in Sudan, pointing that all previous elections were held under a temporary voter registry.
He added the current voter registry was introduced in 2009 and it included 11.600.000 voter, saying that 1.7 million additional voters have recently registered raising the final number of registered voters to 13.3 million.
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.
He said that the NEC is a neutral and transparent body, underscoring that it enjoys administrative, financial and political independence.
“The NEC have taken all the necessary measures to ensure that competitors monitor the integrity of the electoral process and that is why we formed a committee from the political parties to watch the work of the commission,” he said.
Al-Asam stressed that election will not stand as an obstacle in the way of achieving consensus on national dialogue, adding that election is a mechanism for peaceful transformation of power.
He said the 2005 interim constitution provided for the peaceful transformation of power through election, saying the signing of that constitution was witnessed by 23 countries and the 2010 election were held according to its provisions.
“The legitimacy of the current rule was founded on that [2010] election and the constitution determined that legitimacy of the president, state governors, legislative councils and the parliament will expire in April 2015,” he added.
The NEC chairman further said if the election were not held on time, it would create a favourable opportunity for the enemies of Sudan who wish to see the country going through a constitutional vacuum which leads to a political turmoil.
(ST)