Sudan’s opposition attributes low voter turnout to boycott campaign
April 14, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The low voter turnout in the general election is the fruit of the “Leave” campaign launched by opposition forces calling for a boycott, said Sudan Call forces in a statement released on Tuesday.
The National Election Commission (NEC) did not release voter turnout rates during the first two days of the election, but it was reported that only 10 percent of the 13 million eligible voters casted ballots up to now.
“The campaign (Leave) to boycott the elections began to bear fruit as indicated by the masses reluctance to participate in the elections,” said a statement released on Tuesday, the second day of voting.
The statement said they received reports from all the regions attesting the low voting rate and claimed that only one percent of the eligible voters casted a ballot in the election.
It also underscored the need to differentiate between the registered voters and the country total adult population, in reference to the figure of 13 million voters released by the electoral body, adding since the beginning few number of voters registered themselves.
To explain their disinterest, voters in Khartoum approached by Sudan Tribune say they do not expect that the current electoral process can change the political situation in the country.
Nonetheless, there is was no protests or any riots to disrupt the process except in some camps in Darfur region were the residents demonstrated against the vote. The boycott campaign only incited Sudanese not to take part in the election.
As the voter turnout was the challenge in this election, the use of images was an important tool for the two parties to demonstrate the success or the failure of the process. While the government agencies circulated pictures of long queues of voters outside the polling stations, the opposition activists posted photos of empty vote centres.
On the other hand, activists pointed to the decision of the electoral body to authorise the Popular Committees, which are controlled by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), to deliver identification papers to the voters enabling them to participate in the elections.
In South Darfur capital Nyala, political parties participating in the elections held a press conference Tuesday to say they will withdraw from the process on Wednesday if the Popular Committees continue to interfere in the election.
They claimed the Popular Committees exploit the poor participation of electors and use the names of citizens who do not vote to cast their ballots.
OPPONENTS ARRESTED
Sudan Call forces have denounced the arrest of opposition activists who participated in Leave campaign and said that dozens have been arrested in Khartoum, Blue Nile, Darfur and South Kordofan.
The statement further condemned harassment and intimidation exerted by the security service and police against the political parties and their leaders pointing that security forces Tuesday surrounded the premises of the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP), Unionist Movement, and the house of Ibrahim al-Sheikh, the leader of the Sudanese Congress Party SoCp.
The opposition also claimed that security agents had sought to intimidate National Umma party deputy president Mariam al-Mahdi and leading Ba’ath party member Mohamed Dia el-Din by tracking their movements over the past few days.
The family of Sandra Kadoda, a SCP member who was arrested by security agents on 13 April, issued a statement on Tuesday saying the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) has denied arresting their daughter and warned they hold the security apparatus responsible for her safety.
(ST)