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)
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.Jimmy Carter Pleased with Polling Procedure Despite Flaws
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. [...]
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 says 'not much doubt' Sudan polling will be extended
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.
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.Carter says beginning of Sudan's polling process difficult
"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."
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.NEC May Extend Voting Period
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.
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.Sudan rebels want polling extended by four days
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.
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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SRS - Sudan Radio Service 12-Apr-2010
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)
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)
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)
A voter dips her finger into an ink bottle at a polling station in Khartoum April 11, 2010. (Reuters/Mohamed Nurdldin)
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 (R front) arrive at a polling station in Khartoum April 11, 2010. (Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah)
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)
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 **
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
A Sudanese man checks a list of registered voters at a polling station in the southeastern Sudanese town of Akobo. (AFP/Roberto Schmidt)
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)
People search for their names on voting lists at a polling station in Omdurman, west of Khartoum April 11, 2010. (Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah)
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)
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.
Sudan extends voting, official says
CNN - 4 minutes agoBy 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 ...Carter optimistic on Sudan poll
Financial Times - William Wallis - 21 minutes agoHe 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 ...
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