Thursday, March 28, 2024

Sudan Tribune

Plural news and views on Sudan

Sudan gets nod from Carter & EU on elections despite falling short of int’l standards

April 17, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — The European Union (EU) and the Carter Center issued their preliminary assessment of the elections in Sudan saying that whole they do not meet international standards they should be recognized.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, head of The Carter Center monitoring mission for the Sudanese elections attends a press conference in Khartoum, Sudan Saturday, April 17, 2010 (AP)
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, head of The Carter Center monitoring mission for the Sudanese elections attends a press conference in Khartoum, Sudan Saturday, April 17, 2010 (AP)
“It is obvious that the elections will fall short of meeting international standards and Sudan’s obligations for genuine elections in many respects. Nonetheless, the elections are important,” said a statement the Carter Center which monitored Sudan’s first competitive polls in 24 years.

“Unfortunately, many political rights and freedoms were circumscribed for most of this period, fostering distrust among the political parties.”

It said the Center “observed important flaws and found that the process fell short of Sudan’s obligations and related international standards”.

“These elections have struggled to reach international standards. They have not reached them all,” the head of the European Union observer mission in Sudan, Veronique de Keyser, told reporters.

De Keyser who led a delegation of 130 monitors from 25 European states said there had been “significant deficiencies” including logistical problems and intimidation.

“The competitive nature of the campaign was reduced by unequal resourcing and treatment by the authorities as well as boycotts and late withdrawals by opposition parties in the north,” said a preliminary EU report.

Most major Northern opposition parties including the Umma Party, Sudan Communist Party, Umma Reform and Renewal Party (URRP) boycotted the elections days before they were due to start saying the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) has made it impossible for the process to be held in a free and fair manner.

The Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM),the junior partner in the government of national unity (GoNU), also declined to participate in the elections in the North with limited exceptions for the same reasons.

But Sudan’s National Election Commission played down the criticism, saying that the reports should have taken context into account.

“The reports “do not take into account conditions in which the elections took place,” NEC vice chairman Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah told state TV.

He said the election should have been judged by its “fairness”, “participation” and the “free environment in which it took place,” underlining the fact this way “a new electoral experience for the Sudanese voter.”

Sudan’s first multi-party elections since 1986 called on some 16 million voters to choose their president, legislative and local representatives. Southerners also voted for a president of their autonomous region.

The EU suggested the elections in the South were less orderly than that in the North.

“In the south there was greater competition but a less controlled environment leading to more confusion, clashes and intimidation,” the EU mission said.

Both Carter and EU said that they expect the world to give their blessings to the elections.

“My belief is that most of the international community, as represented by their governments, will accept the result of the election,” the former US president said.

Sudanese opposition parties which did not boycott the elections today vowed not to recognize the results calling it fraudulent.

(ST)

6 Comments

  • Toposa Boy Southerner
    Toposa Boy Southerner

    Sudan gets nod from Carter & EU on elections despite falling short of int’l standards
    Even before the voting begins on Apr. 11, a confident Bashir has already announced his next move. He will start campaigning for the unity of the country immediately after the elections. “There will be no separation. Our people in the south will vote for unity voluntarily, through their own will,” Bashir said during a campaign in Sinjah, a town in eastern Sudan, on Apr. 1. Bashir’s imminent consolidation of power is worrying northern opposition parties. With the south disinterested in the elections and focusing on the referendum, they feel let down by the electoral process.

    Reply
  • David Glenn
    David Glenn

    Sudan gets nod from Carter & EU on elections despite falling short of int’l standards
    Dear Mr.President
    The Sudan held four elections before,therefore elections are not new to us,and without observers and with our own limited resources and manpower,thise elections were all fair,free and transparent,we never heard one single complaint and the results were accepted by all parties.
    It is therefore and insult to our intelligence,to try selling us this faulty deal,and for you to tall us that the elections fall short of the international standards,yet you accept them,shows your contempt of the African,for you think he does not deserve elections that are held according to international standards.
    This elections Mr,President do not serve democracy at all.They only pave the way and only serve your own interests and plans for the Sudan.

    Reply
  • Time1
    Time1

    Sudan gets nod from Carter & EU on elections despite falling short of int’l standards
    so whats next now?

    Reply
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.