N Central Sudan: Some bus drivers in Jebel Aulia earn 100 pounds a day & free fuel during elections

Transport Business in Jebel Aulia Booms Thanks to Elections
From SRS - Sudan Radio Service:

14 April 2010 - (Jebel Aulia) – Bus drivers in Jebel Aulia say business is booming as they transport voters to the polling stations.

SRS spoke to some drivers at polling stations at an IDP camp in Jebel Aulia on Tuesday.

Al-Haj Ramadan Ismail, a minibus driver, explains how business has improved over the last few days.

[Al-Haj Ramadan]: “I transport voters to the polling stations so that they come to cast their votes and go back home, I bring them from home and return them home this is how I am working with them and the work is good, business is good now and elections are going on well, no fear, nothing. Thanks be to God especially working with the NCP. Truly, the work is good. Yes, truly the work is good, not bad. During the elections, I earn 100 pounds a day, it is good; they give me a hundred pounds and give me fuel free. Thanks be to God, it is good.”

Osman Al-Amin, another bus driver, also says business that business has improved since voting began.

[Osman Al-Amin]: “The work is going well. There are managers and monitors in the bus and there are also delegates to dispatch people and bring them and they explain the voting process to the voters, how to cast their votes. Those who don’t know and have no idea at all come and ask what they are supposed to. I transport them from one place to another, and to their residences where they come from. They gather in one place for example at the head office of the popular committee in their area, in the mosque or church they gather there and I come and transport them to polling stations. Of course the management of the area informs them of the electoral process, and then they gather in one place. I come and transport them. Of course, political parties organize them, whether it's the NCP or the Popular Congress Party. I am just working. I have no problem with this party or with that party."

Those were two bus drivers who spoke to SRS at Jebel Aulia IDP camp.

More News from SRS - Sudan Radio Service:

14-Apr-2010

• Missing Names and Shortage of Voting Papers Create Confusion in Wau
• Election Officials' Strike Ends in Bentiu
• SPLM Accuses NEC Staff of Negligence
• DUP Threatens Boycott Over Irregularities
• Jebel Aulia IDPs Abstain from Vote
• High Turnouts and Missing Names in Kaya
• Juba Prisoners Vote For a Brighter Future
• SUNDE Claims Harassment at Juba Polling Stations By Security Forces

13-Apr-2010

• NEC Extends Voting Period Until 15 April
• Low Turnouts and Voter Confusion After Withdrawals in Darfur
• Ballot Paper Shortages in Central Equatoria
• Low Turnouts and Voter Errors in Gazira State
• Poor Roads Hinder Voter Material Delivery in Eastern Equatoria
• Mixed Reports of Voting Progress in Malakal
• Malwal Claims SPLA Soldiers Intimidate Voters in Warrap
• Disabled Given Priority in Gadaref Polling Center
• Polling Stations Empty in Yambio
• Big Turnout But Elderly and Disabled Face Problems in Unity State
• Ballot Boxes and Women's List Missing in Mundri
• Dry Weather Affects Voter Turnout in Unity State

Charles Haskins
News Programming Advisor
Sudan Radio Service (SRS)
a project of Education Development Center
T: +254 715 05 2924 or +254 (20) 387 0906
F: +254 (20) 387 6520

Listen to SRS on the radio or on the web at www.sudanradio.org
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Jabal Awliya
Jabal Awliya (jäb'äl ou"lē-ä') [key]or Jebel Aulia (jeb'ul' ou'lēu) [key], village, N central Sudan. Nearby is a large dam (completed 1937) that is used to control the flow of the Nile to aid the Aswan Dam in storing water for summer cultivation in parts of Egypt.



Photo: Jebel Aulia dam after floods (Alun McDonald)