Showing posts with label Carter Centre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carter Centre. Show all posts

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Mia Bittar's Wow Women film - Women's Votes (Julie Flint) - EU US Observers: Standards of Sudan's election fall short

WARM THANKS to a Sudan Watch reader in Khartoum, Sudan for sending in this 3 minute visual poem that weaves together images of Sudanese women artists in Khartoum. Honouring positive and powerful ...
Wow Women by Mia Bittar

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Quote of the Day
"I particularly remember one young Nuer woman who told the men: “This war is your fault. We women are tired of giving birth to children only to see them slaughtered.” All the female delegates applauded her when she proposed a “revolution” of her own. “We will stop giving birth!” - Julie Flint, 16 April 2010 (see report below)
For the record, here is a copy of Julie Flint's great comment posted at Alex de Waal's blog, Making Sense of Sudan, in reply to his blog post 15 April 2010 Women's Votes.
Julie Flint:
April 16th, 2010

Alex, how interesting that women in the Darfur camps not only voted more than men, you say, but that they voted at all, with Abdul Wahid so strongly in favour of a boycott. Do you know what the voting pattern in the camps tells us about Abdul Wahid’s support there these days? Many people are saying that JEM stopped voters in areas under its control. Was there any coercion in the camps?

The interest of women in voting – and presumably in a negotiated rather than violent settlement of conflict – reflects the experience of the church-supported people-to-people peace process in southern Sudan, where the dynamism and determination of women was very apparent. They really gave the SPLA a bashing. I particularly remember one young Nuer woman who told the men: “This war is your fault. We women are tired of giving birth to children only to see them slaughtered.” All the female delegates applauded her when she proposed a “revolution” of her own. “We will stop giving birth!”

A good friend of mine, Awut Deng, walked 30 miles to mobilize women – despite being in the difficult early stages of pregnancy – because the New Sudan Council of Churches organising the process had no budget for mobilization. Everywhere she went women told her they wanted peace because their children were dying. As one delegate said, “In the past we fought over cows, but only fighters died. Now even children and women are killed.” I imagine the thinking of women in the Darfur camps is not so different.

Awut spoke anywhere and everywhere. She interrupted the work of courts to ask: “May I speak?” She spoke to students and teachers in schools. She invited herself to the naming of children. She used, she told me, “any little corner I could find.” She slept in the bush and in the street and went without food for days.

If your impression is correct – you don’t give any details – surely one conclusion must be that more effort must be put into supporting a peace constituency of youth, women and other members of civil society, to limit the margin of manoeuvre of the soldiers and politicians, especially given the late-in-the-day preference of so many of the latter for boycott – unsupported, as far as I can see, by any back-up plan. Viewed from Khartoum, is the plan as it seems to be from here – that there is no plan?
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Note from Sudan Watch Editor
If anyone reading this has emailed me and not received a reply, please forgive me. I have had health and computer problems while monitoring news on Sudan's elections and now must take a break.

Thanks to a reader of Sudan Watch for kindly sending in a report from www.riftvalley.net by Marc Gustafson that is "based on months of interviews with government officials and assessments of government documents about the creation of electoral districts. The report exposes some violations of Sudan's new laws and calls attention to some ways in which the elections might be manipulated."

Thumbs up to SRS, BBC, VOA, UN News Centre, UNAMID, UNMIS, RNW, Xinhua - Thumbs down to Sudan Tribune and Reuters' Opheera McDoom (and their followers blogging at Save Darfur & Enough)

In my view, the majority of journalists and bloggers reporting on Sudan's elections have acted jaw droppingly irresponsibly. The only reports from Reuters on Sudan that I trust are those by British journalist Andrew Heavens in Sudan. France based Sudan Tribune is a clearing house for rebel press releases and anti-government propaganda. So far, I have found that the most accurate news reports are from SRS (Sudan Radio Service), BBC News, UN News Centre, VOA and China's Xinhua News Agency, to name a few. Whenever Sudan watchers read a news report on Sudan, I hope they do a search at Google news to see what else is being reported and sleep on it before jumping to wrong conclusions and spreading dangerous propaganda and inaccurate news.

LATEST NEWS

AU chief hails peaceful Sudan polls
From Agence France-Presse (AFP) - Saturday, 17 April 2010 13:31:
(ADDIS ABABA) - African Union chief Jean Ping hailed Sudan on Saturday for "peacefully conducted" elections as Khartoum kicked off vote-counting after five days of balloting.

Ping "wishes to commend the people of the Sudan and Sudanese political parties for peacefully conducting the just-concluded multi-party general elections," the bloc said in a statement.

"These elections constitute a fundamental milestone towards realising (its) democratic transformation ... as espoused by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement," it added.

Khartoum and its southern half signed the deal which provided for both the elections and the referendum, ending a bitter decades-long civil war that left around two million dead and some four million displaced.

Ping noted that the polls "were faced by administrative and logistical problems", but he hailed the electoral board for its efforts to address the shortcomings.

The African nation's first multi-party election in over two decades took place from Sunday to Thursday when Sudanese voted to elect their president as well as legislative and local representatives.

Southerners also voted for the leader of the semi-autonomous government of south Sudan.

Results are expected around April 20.
Sudan elections 'failed' to meet international norms
From BBC News online - Saturday, 17 April 2010 15:47 UK - excerpt:
Two international organisations monitoring the elections in Sudan say the controversial polls failed to meet full international standards. The EU and the Carter Center, led by former US President Jimmy Carter, said there were significant failings, citing reports of intimidation and harassment. However, both concluded the polls were a significant step towards democracy.

"It is obvious that the elections will fall short of international standards that are expected of advanced democracies... The people's expectations have not been met," former US president Jimmy Carter told a news conference.

"Turnout is very high, 60%, but with significant deficiencies," said EU mission chief Veronique de Keyser at a news conference in Khartoum. "These elections did not reach international standards, not yet."

Neither of the observer groups called for a re-vote, but recommended instead that the lessons learned be applied to next year's key referendum on Southern Sudan's independence.
Observers: Sudan Election Failed to Meet International Standards
From The Voice of America (VOA) - Saturday, 17 April 2010 - excerpt:
The European Union monitoring mission in Sudan and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said Saturday that the elections fall short of international standards because of widespread problems.

During the five-day vote, observers reported a series of problems, including intimidation, incomplete voter lists and a shortage of voting materials.

Opposition groups have also complained. Several parties partially or fully boycotted the vote, including southern Sudan's main party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement. And some groups accused the ruling National Congress Party of planning to rig the results.

Final results are expected to be announced Tuesday.

Some Sudanese officials defended the election Saturday, saying it was unfair to expect Sudan to meet international standards. A member of the National Elections Commission said officials had done their best for a war-torn country with little electoral experience.
Standard of Sudan elections fall short
From Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) - Saturday, 17 April 2010 - 1:21pm
The elections held in Sudan earlier this week did not meet international standards.

Nevertheless, they were an important step in the democratisation process says Veronique de Keyser, head of the European Union observer mission in the east African country. People in South Sudan were able to vote for their own autonomous leader.

The three-day elections for the presidency, the parliament and local government were extended by two days because of logistical problems and delays. The turnout for the elections, the first in 20 years in which several parties could take part, was 60 percent. However, the legitimacy of the poll was brought into question when President Omar el-Bashir's two main rivals withdrew from the running.
News from SRS - Sudan Radio Service - Saturday, 17 April 2010:

NEC Announces Election Re-run in 17 Constituencies
16 April 2010 - (Khartoum) – The deputy chairman of the National Elections Commission, Prof. Abdallah Ahmed Abdallah, says there will be a repeat of the elections in 17 constituencies within sixty days due to errors in the distribution of ballot papers. Speaking to SRS in Khartoum on Thursday, Abdallah said that ballot boxes were misplaced in these constituencies. Full story

EU Observers Declare Elections Did Not Meet International Standards
17 April 2010 - ( Khartoum) – The European Union Elections Observation Mission to Sudan says that Sudan's elections did not meet international standards. The EU-EOM Chief Observer, Veronique de Keyser, addressed a press conference on Saturday in Khartoum.

[Veronique de Keyser]: “It is difficult to compare this elections with other elections, taking into account the particularities of the voting, the history of this country, the stakes and the future. But in terms of the methodology that have been applied by the European Union which is very strict I can only say that these elections have struggled to reach international standards. However, in the process, there were signs of a more democratic future. For instance, the withdrawal of a great part of the opposition in the north strongly reduced the competition in the moment of voting but not the interest during the electoral campaign. The observers have been the direct witnesses of the democratic space that was open to the parties.”

De Keyser said the ruling parties in both northern Sudan and southern Sudan dominated the elections.

[Veronique de Keyser]: “These elections have suffered from significant deficiencies but it has to be taken into account that the Sudan is immense and that these elections are the first in 24 years. In the north and the south these elections have been dominated by the parties in power. The serious incidents during the campaign have been sporadic, with reports of intimidation and harassment of some candidates.”

De Keyser said the EU-EOM will continue to observe the counting of ballots nationwide and will make its final recommendations after the announcement of the final results of the elections.
NCP Rejects EU Observer Statement
17 April 2010 - (Khartoum) – The spokesperson for the National Congress Party reacted strongly to the EU observer statement, Fathi Sheela says that it’s too early to judge the elections in Sudan. Full story

Carter Center Critical of Elections Procedures
17 April 2010 - (Khartoum) – The Carter Center says that Sudan’s elections have fallen short of international standards because of major flaws in the polling process all over the country. The former US President and founder of the Carter Center, Jimmy Carter, held a press conference in Khartoum on Saturday. Full story

No Security Problems in Darfur During Voting Says HEC
17 April 2010 - (Khartoum) – The High Elections Committee in Darfur state says there were no security problems in the state during the counting of the ballots. The chairman of the High Elections Committee in Northern Darfur, Al-Sir Ahmed Al-Mek spoke to SRS on Saturday from Northern Darfur. Full story

Counting Delayed in Unity State As Pay Dispute Continues
17 April 2010 - (Bentiu) – Counting of votes in Unity state began on Friday with some delay due to complaints from elections officials about unpaid wages. Our reporter Clement Wani who is in Unity state sent us this report. Full story

SHEC Staff in Juba Refuse to Begin Count Until Salaries Arrive
16 April 2010 - (Juba) – Staff of State High Election Committee at Mayo Primary School polling centre in Juba have refused to count the ballots because their allowances have not been paid by NEC. The head of the polling station, Simon Saki, explained to SRS what happened: Full story

Failure to Pay Arrears Delays Count in Unity
16 April 2010 - (Bentiu) – An official from the State High Elections Committee in Unity state, Michael Mayar Mading, said that they have started counting the ballot papers. Speaking to SRS by telephone, Mayar Mading said party agents should remain calm until the winners are announced. Full story

Musician Attacked in Juba
16 April 2010 - (Juba) – A prominent southern Sudanese musician was the victim of an assassination attempt early on Friday morning. He was hit in the chest by a hand grenade thrown by an unknown assailant outside his house at Hai Jeberona in Juba. The grenade failed to detonate. Speaking to SRS in Juba, Kang John Jok, popularly known as Kang J.J., explains how the incident occurred. Full story

News from SRS - Sudan Radio Service - Thursday, 15 April 2010:

Polling Stations Close at 6pm Thursday 15 April
15 April 2010 - (Khartoum) – The National Elections Commission has signaled the end of the voting process. Voting officially ended on Thursday at 6pm. The deputy chairman of the NEC, Prof. Abdallah Ahmed Abdallah, made the announcement during a press conference on Wednesday in Khartoum. Full story

Insecurity, Logistics and Water Shortages Prevent Voting in Yirol East
15 April 2010 - (Juba) – Many of the voters in Yirol East county were unable to cast their ballots due to insecurity in the area. Our reporter Mageng Wade is in Yirol East and he sent this report. Full story

WES Vote Counting Begins Friday Amidst Complaints By Unpaid Election Officials
15 April 2010 - (Yambio) – The Chairman of the High Elections Committee in Western Equatoria state, Lawrence Suluvia, says counting of votes from all polling stations will start on Friday. Suluvia spoke to SRS in Yambio on Wednesday. Full story

Foreigner Traders in Juba Urge Sudanese to Remain Calm When Results Are Announced
15 April 2010 - (Juba) – Foreign traders in Juba are urging Sudanese not to react violently when the election results are announced. SRS spoke to some foreigner traders in Juba on Wednesday. Full story

Al-Bashir Still To Face ICC Charges Even if Re-elected
15 April 2010 - (Nairobi) – President al-Bashir will still face charges at the International Criminal Court even if he is re-elected. An ICC lawyer, Abd Al-Hadi Shalouf, told SRS on Wednesday by phone from The Hague that al-Bashir will still have to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Full story

Monday, April 12, 2010

Sudan Elections: NEC extends voting for two days - Jimmy Carter pleased with polling procedure despite flaws

SUDAN'S National Election Commission (NEC) has announced it is extending voting for two days, meaning the election will now last for five days.

Sudan Elections 2010

Photo: Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter observes a polling station for Sudan's first multiparty elections in decades in Khartoum, Sunday, April 11, 2010. Sudan's elections commission on Monday announced a two-day extension to voting until April 15, after many voters experienced delays across Africa's largest country in the first open elections in 24 years. (AP/Abd Raouf/Reuters)

Sudan Elections 2010

Photo: Ghana's former President John Agyekum Kufuor, top delegate of the African Union, second left, observes a polling station in Khartoum, Sunday, April 11, 2010. (AP/Amr Nabil)

TODAY, speaking to reporters at Juba airport, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said the elections were supposed to begin on Monday instead of Sunday to allow the Sudanese NEC to complete its logistical preparations.

"I don't think there is much doubt that there will have to be an extension on the time for voting," Mr Carter told reporters after meeting south Sudan leader Salva Kiir on the second day of polling.

Asked about whether the results of the vote, which began amid some chaos on Sunday, would be legitimate, Carter said: "It depends on whether or not the mistakes are corrected."

Source: See reports below.

Voting extended in Sudan's first multi-party elections in 24 years
From BBC World News, Monday, 12 April 2010 - 16:01 GMT:
It is the second day of voting in Sudan's first multi-part elections for 24 years.

The presidential, parliamentary and state polls are part of the deal that ended Sudan's 21-year civil war between north and south.

The deal also stipulated that there would be a referendum next year on whether the south should break away from the rest of the country.

There have been reports of confusion and disarray in the voting in many regions, with many polling stations opening late.

As a result the National Election Commission has announced it is extending voting for two days, meaning the election will now last for five days. [...]
Jimmy Carter Pleased with Polling Procedure Despite Flaws
From SRS - Sudan Radio Service, Monday, 12 April 2010:
12 April 2010 - (Juba) – Former US President Jimmy Carter is in Juba to assess the progress of voting in Sudan's first multi-party elections in 24 years.

Carter is the founder of the Carter Center Foundation which has a team of election monitors operating in Sudan. Carter visited fifteen polling stations in Juba yesterday as part of a three-day visit to Sudan.

Despite reports of a certain confusion at many polling stations, Jimmy Carter expressed his satisfaction with the voting process:

[Jimmy Carter]: “I have had the chance to visit fifteen polling sites and obviously things are orderly. The heads of the polling sites say there are no problems except two: one is that the people are illiterate and can’t find their names on the lists and the other thing is that some of them don’t know the procedures but the heads of polling stations are helping them make their decisions properly. Some believe they will finish tomorrow and I would say about half of the leaders say they might need another day, so as you all know, the National Elections Commission will add another day of voting if necessary. We will not know about that until tomorrow. So I found everything was peaceful, they all had the materials on time in these two centers and there have been no threats, no violence, and no problems except those that I mentioned.”

Jimmy Carter was speaking in Juba on Sunday.
Carter says 'not much doubt' Sudan polling will be extended
From AFP, Monday, 12 April 2010:
JUBA, Sudan - Former US president Jimmy Carter, who is in Sudan monitoring the country's landmark elections, said on Monday there was little doubt that the three days of polling will have to be extended.

"I don't think there is much doubt that there will have to be an extension on the time for voting," Carter told reporters after meeting south Sudan leader Salva Kiir on the second day of polling.

Sudanese are voting for president as well for legislative and local representatives in the first competitive vote in 24 years.

Southerners are also voting for the leader of the semi-autonomous government of south Sudan.

"There were some serious problems with the election process in some voting places where lists have been very difficult to find your names, where voters have difficulty finding their names," said Carter, who visited around 20 polling stations in south Sudan on Monday.

"In some cases, wrong ballots were sent to other places in southern Sudan."

Asked about whether the results of the vote, which began amid some chaos on Sunday, would be legitimate, Carter said: "It depends on whether or not the mistakes are corrected."
Carter says beginning of Sudan's polling process difficult
English.news.cn 2010-04-12 21:38:50 Editor: Lin Zhi
JUBA, Sudan, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on Monday described the beginning of the polling process in Sudan's elections as difficult.

Speaking to reporters at the Juba airport, Carter said the elections were supposed to begin on Monday instead of Sunday to allow the Sudanese National Elections Commission (NEC) to complete its logistical preparations.

Carter arrived in south Sudan on Monday to get acquainted with progress of the polling process in the region.

He visited the Attla Barra polling station in Juba and expressed hope that the voters would be able to vote under natural circumstances.

Carter is expected to visit polling stations outside Juba to get acquainted with progress of the polling process.

He said he would meet President of southern Sudan government, Salva Kiir Mayardit and Chairman of the national elections commission in the south and listen to reports of his center's observers in the region.

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) on Sunday criticized what it termed as mistakes during the first day of the polling in the south and demanded extension of the polling days to enable around 4 million southern Sudanese voters to cast their votes.
NEC May Extend Voting Period
From SRS - Sudan Radio Service, Sunday, 11 April 2010:
(Khartoum) – National Elections Commission chairman Abel Alier says the commission will review the three-day voting period if the need arises.

Speaking to SRS in Khartoum on Sunday 11 April, Alier said that the first day of the voting process was commendable.

[Abel Alier Arabic]: “The procedures are moving well and the queues are very long. The moral of the people is very high. God willing people will continue to vote as this is their right and duty to elect the leaders of the country for the next four years. This is a start and we will check whether to review some issues, because the attendance is so large, for that reason we may review some issues. Now I came to vote then I will return to the office, and we will see at the end of the third day whether the voting period is enough or not.”

That was the Chairman of the NEC speaking to SRS in Khartoum on the first day of polling in Sudan.
Sudan rebels want polling extended by four days
From AFP, Sunday, 11 April 2010 7:19 PM:
Former southern rebels the Sudan People's Liberation Movement called for an extension of polling in the country's landmark elections by four days, claiming problems.

“There have been a lot of irregularities that we have noticed. We are asking for an extension of the vote from three to seven days,” Samson Kwaje, SPLM leader Salva Kiir's campaign manager, told reporters.

“Today was a wasted day. We are seriously sending a protest to the NEC,” the National Election Commission, Kwaje said in English.

He said the irregularities included polling stations opening late, wrong ballot boxes in the wrong places and ballot boxes going missing.

Sudanese were voting on Sunday to choose their president as well as parliamentary and local representatives, in the first multi-party elections in 24 years.

The first day of voting ended officially at 6 pm (1500 GMT) and was marred by logistical problems and confusion.

ELECTIONS 2010 REPORTS


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Monday, 12 April 2010 11:45
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Monday, 12 April 2010 11:36

SRS - Sudan Radio Service 12-Apr-2010


Khartoum, Sudan

A Sudanese man listens to the radio with his family at dawn on the first day of election in Khartoum April 11, 2010. (Reuters/Mohamed Nurdldin)

Juba, Southern Sudan

An election official displays the ballots to be used for the elections at a polling station set in a restaurant in Juba, Southern Sudan, Sunday April 11, 2010. (AP/Jerome Delay)

Malakal in Upper Nile state

A Sudanese woman holds her voter registration card outside a polling station in the town of Malakal in Upper Nile state, April 11, 2010. (Reuters/Finbarr O'Reilly)

Sudan Elections 2010

A voter dips her finger into an ink bottle at a polling station in Khartoum April 11, 2010. (Reuters/Mohamed Nurdldin)

Khartoum, Sudan

A Sudanese polling station staff member, left, stains between the fingers of a voter before she casts her vote for Sudan's first multiparty elections in decades in Khartoum, Sunday, April 11, 2010. (AP/Amr Nabil)

Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and his wife Widad Babiker

Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and his wife Widad Babiker (R front) arrive at a polling station in Khartoum April 11, 2010. (Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah)

Khartoum, Sudan

Sudanese President and presidential candidate Omar al-Bashir gestures after he casts his vote for Sudan's first multiparty elections in decades in Khartoum, Sunday, April 11, 2010. (AP/Amr Nabil)

Juba, Southern Sudan

In this photo released by the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), Southern Sudan President and electoral candidate Salva Kiir casts one of his ballots at a polling station set in a restaurant in Juba, Southern Sudan, Sunday April 11, 2010. (AP/UNMIS, Tim McKulka) ** EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES **

Juba, Southern Sudan

Southern Sudanese women check the registered voters' list for their names at a polling station in Juba, Southern Sudan, Sunday April 11, 2010 (AP/Jerome Delay)

Juba, Southern Sudan

A Southern Sudanese woman checks the registered voters list for her name, at a polling station in Juba, Southern Sudan, Sunday April 11, 2010. (AP/Jerome Delay)

Juba, southern Sudan

Election officials post the list of eligible voters at a polling station set in a restaurant in Juba, southern Sudan, Sunday April 11, 2010. (AP/Jerome Delay)

Malakal in Upper Nile state

Sudanese women look for their names on a voters list posted outside a polling station in the town of Malakal in Upper Nile state, April 11, 2010. (Reuters/Finbarr O'Reilly)

Malakal, in the Upper Nile state

Sudanese policemen try to hold back a crowd of voters pushing through the gate of a polling station after voting has yet to begin by early afternoon in the town of Malakal, in the Upper Nile state April 11, 2010. (Reuters/Finbarr O'Reilly)

Darfur town of el Fasher, Sudan

Sudanese voters check their names in the election list of a polling station located at a local school in the Darfur town of el Fasher, Sudan Sunday, April 11, 2010. (AP/Nasser Nasser)

Southeastern Sudanese town of Akobo.

A Sudanese man checks a list of registered voters at a polling station in the southeastern Sudanese town of Akobo. (AFP/Roberto Schmidt)

Khartoum, Sudan

Sudanese check their names on lists outside a polling station to vote for Sudan's first multiparty elections in decades in Khartoum, Sunday, April 11, 2010. AP/Abd Raouf)

Omdurman, west of Khartoum

People search for their names on voting lists at a polling station in Omdurman, west of Khartoum April 11, 2010. (Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah)

Sudanese embassy in Cairo

A Sudanese voter look at names on a list displayed outside a polling station in the Sudanese embassy in Cairo April 11, 2010. (Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

Mangalla, Terekeka county, Central Equatoria state, south Sudan

Women look on at a polling station during the election in Mangalla, Terekeka county, Central Equatoria state, south Sudan April 11, 2010. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

Sudan holds landmark election: Your comments
BBC News website readers from the country have been sharing their thoughts. Full story.

  1. Sudan extends voting, official says


    CNN - 4 minutes ago
    By the CNN Wire Staff (CNN) -- Voting in Sudan's first multiparty elections in 24 years has been extended by two days, a United Nations official said Monday ...
  2. Carter optimistic on Sudan poll


    Financial Times - William Wallis - 21 minutes ago
    He would not be at this one in Sudan – or indeed have sent observers from his Atlanta-based Carter Center to all the others – if there were not some ...

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Sudan Elections: NEC announces start of polling - Ex U.S. President Carter congratulates NEC for excellent progress

Sudan Elections 2010

Juba residents participate in a prayer service on the eve of the country's elections in Juba, Southern Sudan, Saturday, April 10, 2010. The people of Southern Sudan will cast ballots in a national election for the first time in more than two decades when a three-day election begins Sunday. Despite the first-in-a-generation vote, most people are already looking past the elections to a vote next January considered far more significant: a referendum on independence that could signal the birth of a new African nation, if final negotiations with Khartoum over oil rights and the location of the border are worked out peacefully. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Sudan Elections 2010

A Sudanese Muslim boy prays in front of a mosque, near Khartoum, Sudan, Saturday, April 10, 2010. The election posters and slogan-filled T-shirts blanketing this town underscore a new excitement in southern Sudan, which will cast ballots in a national election for the first time in more than two decades, when a three-day vote begins Sunday. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Sudan Elections 2010

A Sudanese National Election Commission (NEC) worker prays while her colleagues stand near polling boxes at a polling station in Al Fasher, northern Darfur April 10, 2010. (Reuters/Zohra Bensemra)

Sudan Elections 2010

A Sudanese child is seen during a demonstration to demand stability in Sudan outside the Sudanese embassy in central London, Saturday April 10, 2010. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Sudan Elections 2010

A Sudanese protester holds a placard during a demonstration to demand stability in Sudan outside the Sudanese embassy in central London, Saturday April 10, 2010. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

NEC Announces Beginning of Polling Period
From SRS - Sudan Radio Service, Saturday, 10 April 2010:
10 April 2010 - (Khartoum) – The National Election Commission has announced that polling will start officially on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference at the Friendship Palace in Khartoum on Saturday, NEC chairman Abel Alier officially announced the start of polling.

[Abel Alier]: “For the last fifty-six days of the electoral process, we were watching and you were watching political parties and candidates campaigning for these various offices, and that campaign ended yesterday. And today, there is a break tomorrow, we will start the last part of the elections process that is polling and the polling will take three days: 11, 12 and 13 April.”

Alier urged registered voters to go to the polling centers and cast their votes.

[Abel Alier]: “I would like to seize this opportunity to call upon the voter and through you the media, to convey this message. I ask the voter on behalf of the Commission to come out to vote. Just as the voter made every effort during the registration process where voters succeeded in attaining the highest registration rate in the history of the country and in many parts of the world, we are calling upon the voter to make every effort to come to cast his or her vote. And we call upon the citizens of this country to help encourage the voters to go to vote in the coming three days.”

He said the NEC wants to ensure that the results of the electoral process are free and fair.

[Abel Alier]: “We are committed to free and fair polling, we want to ensure that what we are doing will make it evident both to the voter, the ordinary citizen and to the world at large that this process of polling is going to be transparent as part of our commitment to free and fair elections and we want you, the media, to be with us in this. At this juncture, I would also like to mention my appreciation for the role played by the international community in assisting us in the process from May last year up to this moment, particularly the United Nations bodies.”

Alier said that more than 16 million people are expected to cast their vote during the polling period.
Former US President Jimmy Carter Congratulates NEC for Excellent Progress
From SRS - Sudan Radio Service, Saturday, 10 April 2010:
10 April 2010 - (Khartoum) – The former US President and the founder of the Carter Center, Jimmy Carter, says he is satisfied with the work of the National Elections Commission.

Carter made this statement to the press following his meeting with the NEC in Khartoum on Friday.

[Jimmy Carter]: “The representatives of the Carter Center have met with the NEC, and we had some questions to ask them and they answered all our questions satisfactorily, and they assured us that they are making excellent progress in the delivery of the elections material for the elections and we see no reason for any concern except in a few isolated stations way out where voter materials will be a little bit late, but they have three days at least to reach the voters. So we are satisfied with the decision made by the NEC. We are here to observe the process and we will make a report at the end.”

Last Tuesday, the SPLM’s secretary-general, Pagan Amum, had claimed that Carter Center staff had been expelled from nine states in northern Sudan and that Carter himself had threatened not to come to Sudan.

Carter said he was unaware of reports indicating that any of the center’s staff had been expelled from states in northern Sudan.

[Jimmy Carter]: “From northern Sudan? I don’t know of that. My son is going to Northern State, he is on his way there and I haven’t heard any reports about that. We had about twenty of our team this morning that left so they are on the way to be dispersed now.”

Regarding the electoral process in Darfur, Carter said his center would only comment on the election process after the elections had taken place.

[Jimmy Carter]: “We don’t have anything to report on the running of elections because they haven’t begun and we won’t make any assessment of the elections process until we make a panel decision and then we will have our press conference on the 17 April and that will be our first comment on the conduct of the elections.”

Former US President Jimmy Carter was talking to the press in Khartoum on Friday.
Alcohol Ban in Malakal As Some Traders Go On Holiday During Voting Period
SRS - Saturday, 10 April 2010 - (Malakal) - The governor of Upper Nile state, Dr. William Othon Awer has stressed that his government has taken measures to ensure good security and stability during the polling days in the state. Addressing people during a graduation of prison warders in Malakal on Friday, Awer denied rumors that some residents are leaving Malakal, for fear of insecurity. Awer has ordered bars and other places where alcoholic drinks are made or served to shut down until the end of polling. Our producer Hussein Halfawi in Malakal spoke to some traders in the area. Full story.

Yambio Residents Call on All Sudanese to Vote for Their Future
SRS - Saturday, 10 April 2010 - (Yambio) - As voting begins on Sunday 11 April all over Sudan, residents of Western Equatoria state expressed their readiness to vote in what for many will be the first democratic exercise of their lives. Southern Sudanese voters will be expected to complete twelve ballot papers in the voting period that will extend until 13 April. SRS took to the streets on Friday to find out how prepared residents are in Yambio and what these elections mean to them. Full story.

HEC Chair Warns Against Party T-Shirts and Violent Behaviour At Polling Stations
SRS - Saturday, 10 April 2010 - (Bentiu) - The chairman of the High Election Committee in Unity State is urging all candidates and their supporters not to turn up at the polling stations with their logos. Michael Mayor Chol was speaking during a press conference in Unity state on Friday. Chol also described the complaints procedure that will be put in place during the voting period. Unity state has more than 600 polling stations. Full story.

Some Foreigners Leave, Some Stay Behind on Eve of Elections
SRS - Saturday, 10 April 2010 - (Yambio) - Despite the fact that some foreigners have left southern Sudan because they anticipate election violence, some Ugandans, Somalis and Kenyans businessmen in Yambio say they will remain in southern Sudan throughout the elections. They expressed hope that the elections will be peaceful and that their businesses will continue doing well even after the elections. Here is David from Uganda. Full story.

Arman Withdrawal Causes Confusion Among SPLM Supporters in Khartoum
SRS - Saturday, 10 April 2010 (Khartoum) - The decision by the SPLM to withdraw its presidential candidate Yasir Arman from the presidential race has caused confusion among some young people in Khartoum. SRS spoke to a number of displaced youths from southern Sudan in Khartoum on Friday. Here, two young women explain how they feel about the SPLM decision to withdraw the Yasir Arman from the presidential race. Full story.