Sudan's presidents Bashir & Kiir re-elected - A lot of intimidation during the elections, especially in the south

Al-Bashir and Salva Kiir Reelected
From SRS - Sudan Radio Service, Monday, 26 April 2010:

(Khartoum) - Omar Hassan al-Bashir has been re-elected as President of the Republic of the Sudan.

The NEC chairman, Abel Alier, announced the results at a press conference at the Friendship Palace in Khartoum on Monday.

[Abel Alier]: “According to the result of the general elections, the winner for the post of the President of Sudan is the National Congress Party candidate, Omar Al-Bashir. He won with 6, 901, 694 votes. This is equivalent to 68.24 percent of the total votes cast. The total number of votes cast was 10,114,310 votes.”

Abel Alier also announced that Salva Kiir Mayardit was reelected as President of the Government of Southern Sudan.

[Abel Alier]: “The winner for the post of President of the Government of Southern Sudan is Salva Kiir Mayardit; he obtained 2,616,613 votes. This amounts to 92.99 percent of votes. His counterpart, Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, received 197, 217 votes, or 7 percent of the total votes.”

The results for the governorships of six southern states were announced by the head of the NEC technical department, Alhadi Mohammed Ahmed.

[Alhadi Mohammed Ahmed]: “The winner for the governorship of Jonglei state is Kuol Manyang Juuk. For Central Equatoria state, Clement Wani Kong’a. For Eastern Equatoria, Luis Lobong Lojore. For Western Equatoria, Joseph Mario Bakosoro. In Upper Nile state it is Simon Kun and in Lakes state, Chol Tong Mayay was elected.”

Alhadi Mohammed Ahmed was announcing the results in Khartoum on Monday.

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Presidents Bashir and Kiir will form a coalition government

From FT.com Monday, 26 April 2010:

Mr Bashir and Mr Kiir will form a coalition government. Some senior regime officials have said the ruling National Congress party would also be willing to include other opposition groups, including those that boycotted the polls, in order to defuse tensions and build consensus in the precarious months ahead of the southern referendum.

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SPLM candidate Yasir Arman came second

From Sudan Tribune Monday, 26 April 2010:

The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) presidential candidate was declared winner with a 68.2% of the vote, the state electoral commission said on Monday.

The SPLM candidate Yasir Arman came second with 21.7%.

In the South SPLM chairman Salva Kiir got 93% of the votes. His challenger Lam Akol 7%.

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From VOA Monday, 26 April 2010:

Yasir Arman, the northern secular Muslim slated by the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement to challenge Mr Bashir, came in second with 22 percent, most of which came from the southern states.

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Bashir says referendum in south Sudan will take place on schedule

From BBC 26 April 2010:

Speaking in a televised address after the poll result was announced, Mr Bashir said: "The referendum in south Sudan will take place on schedule."

He described his election win as a victory for "all Sudanese", and played down criticism of the poll, praising "the civilised and respectful conduct during these elections, which saw no clashes or friction".

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South Sudan: Some election results are still expected

From SRS - Sudan Radio Service, Monday, 26 April 2010:

(Juba) – The Southern Sudan High Election Committee had confirmed the results for the governorships in the other four states in southern Sudan earlier in the day.

Speaking at a press conference in Juba on Monday, the leader of SSHEC, Anthony Ariki, made this announcement:

[Anthony Ariki]: “We have already received the results for four states governors: that is the governor of Unity State, Taban Deng Gai, the governor of Warrap State, Nyandeng Malek and the governor of Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State, Paul Malong Awan and the one announced yesterday, the governor of Western Bahr el-Ghazal state, Rizik Zakariah. So far, out of the ten governors of the states four results have been announced and six are still expected.”

Ariki also said the results for elections to the national assembly in two states have also been announced:

[Anthony Ariki]: “In Warrap state, six geographical constituencies for the national assembly were declared together with twenty state assembly constituencies. In Central Equatoria state, seven constituencies have been declared and more are expected.”

Ariki called on citizens to remain calm and to wait for the announcement of the final results.

Meanwhile, there is heavy deployment of policemen and security personnel all over Juba to deter any outbreak of violence following the announcement of the results.

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South Sudan: Unity State - Angelina Teny v Taban Deng

From SRS - Sudan Radio Service, Monday, 26 April 2010:

(Khartoum) – The independent candidate for the governorship of Unity state, Angelina Teny, says she vehemently rejects the results of the elections in Unity state.

A media spokesman for Angelina Teny, Yohanis Musa Pouk, addressed a press conference in Khartoum on Saturday.

[Yohanis Musa Pouk]: “At around 4 o’clock [on Friday] Taban declared on the state’s local radio station that he was the winner. The announcement was not made through the National Elections Commission but through one of the radio announcers. He declared that Taban won the elections and said that was the announcement coming from the NEC. Following that announcement, our people went to the street collectively and spontaneously in a non-violent manner because nobody told the people of Unity state that there was going to be any announcement of the results. They went out spontaneously and found themselves together going to the radio station to inquire about the source of the news. They were surprised by soldiers from Sudan People’s Liberation Army who fired live bullets randomly at the moving crowd and instantly two people were shot dead. One is called Choul Ruai from Koch county and the other is called Gadwich. We were not able to get his second name. Four people were hospitalized and there were other people who sustained minor injuries.”

Pouk said the people of Unity state will never accept Taban Deng as a governor.

[Yohanis Musa Pouk]: “We are seeing that it is impossible as we are going towards the year 2011 that Taban will be the governor of Unity state. Nobody in Unity state has this in mind and nobody will accept it, but this issue will not end in one day. No citizen would be able to vote for Taban. Those who voted for him are those working in the government: ministers, wives of the ministers and those in the assembly who are with him, in addition to the votes that were rigged. No ordinary citizen will ever accept that Taban should continue in power. This is not the end of it; let’s not think that this is the end of everything and that the results have been announced, no. we don’t believe in these results because they are neither “free nor fair” and we are waiting for what will come from Juba - not from Bentiu.”

Pouk claimed that according to the statistics he had received from various constituencies, Angelina Teny won 68,000 votes while Taban Deng won 44,000 votes.

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South Sudan: NEC says Malik Agar Eyre wins the gubernatorial seat in Blue Nile state

From SRS - Sudan Radio Service, Friday, 23 April 2010:

(Khartoum) – The NEC has announced Malik Agar as the winner of the gubernatorial seat in Blue Nile state.

The chairperson of the NEC technical committee, Al-Hadi Mohamed Ahmed, announced Agar’s victory in Khartoum on Thursday.

[Al-Hadi Mohamed]: “We will start announcing the results of the winners in the gubernatorial elections, in Blue Nile state, the winner is Malik Agar Eyre, the political affiliation is the SPLM. The number of votes he got is 108.119, followed by the NCP candidate Farah Ibrahim Mohamed Agar who got 99,419 votes.”

NCP had earlier announced that their candidate Farah Agar was the winner in the state.

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National Election Commission Announces NCP Wining of (6) State Electoral Constituencies in North Kordofan State
From www.sudan.gov Wednesday, 21 April 2010 17:18:

The NEC has announced this afternoon 20/4/2010 in a meeting chaired by NEC, / Chairperson Mr Abel Alier in and in the presence of a number of NEC members, the results of six of State Constituencies in North Kordofan State.

General Police Mr. Al-Hadi Mohammed Ahmed-, Chairperson of the Technical Committee of Elections, said in a press conference held by the NEC today at the center of results announcement at the Friendship Hall in Khartoum in the presence of a large number of representatives of the local & international media local along with international observers , that the NEC accredited the wining of the National Congress Party’s candidates in (6) of the State constituencies as follows:-

No (1) East Al-Obeyed.
No. (5) Al-Obeyed East of railway line .
No. (5) Suburbs of Al-Obeyed.
No. (7) Abu Haraz.
No. (13) Tayba.
No. (14) The state constituency Um-Kireidim and Al-Mazroub.

General. Al-Hadi further announced the wining of the National Congress Party’s candidates in the following constituencies:-

Suleiman Ibrahim Mohamed Ahmed, Constituency No (1) East Al-Obeyed.
Mr. Al-Siddiq Abdul-Gadir Ali, Constituency No. (4) Abu Haraz.
Mr. Ezeirig Mohammed Ezeirig Constituency No. (5) Al-Obeyed Eastern railway.
Ahmed Mohmed Saleh, Constituency No. (5) Al-Obeyed. Suburbs
Al-Hassan Abdullah Al-Haj Omara, Constituency No. (13) Tayba.
Abdul Shafi Habib Habiballa Othman., Constituency No. (14) Um-Kiradim and Al-Mazroub.

Last Updated on Thursday, 22 April 2010 08:55

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A lot of intimidation during the elections, especially in the south

From SRS - Sudan Radio Service, Thursday, 22 April 2010:

(Khartoum) – The UK-based Centre for Foreign Policy Analysis or CFPA, says the domination of the two ruling parties in the north and south was an obstacle for a free and fair elections in the country.

The CFPA director, Prof. Paul Moorcraft, addressed a press conference at the Friendship Palace in Khartoum on Wednesday.

[Prof. Paul Moorcraft]: “The dominance of the two incumbent parties in the north and south presented obstacles to a “free and fair” election and they were serious impediments in the election, especially in southern Sudan. The two ruling parties’ interference in the media throughout the country was also observed. Nevertheless, the overwhelming countrywide commitment to voting, the infectious enthusiasm and the generally disciplined desire of the citizenry to participate are appreciated and applauded. After the continuous disaffection of war since 1955, the fact that a national election was held in Africa’s largest country, with few traditions of democratic contests, widespread illiteracy and poor infrastructures, especially in the south, is to be commended.”

Prof. Moorcraft disclosed that there was a lot of intimidation during the elections, especially in the south.

[Prof. Paul Moorcraft]: “We did see quite a large amount of intimidation. We have recorded intimidation by the SPLM. Lam Akol was ringing me up for example on a number of occasions saying what was happening to him. But I’m also talking about issues in the north, but mostly all of the intimidation we saw was in the south, largely by the SPLA but not exclusively. So we had a lot of evidence of that and sometimes with direct observation and obviously when politicians ring me up we go and try to check it on the ground which we tried to do. So yes, there was intimidation.”

Professor Paul Moorcraft, the head of CFPA observer mission to Sudan was addressing reporters in Khartoum.

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More news from SRS:

19-Apr-2010

• AU Gives Sudan Elections Free and Fair Imprimatur
• Civil Society Groups Criticize NEC

18-Apr-2010

• NCP Reiterates Coalition Offer
• PCP Refuses to Recognize Election Results
• Arab League Satisfied With Election Process
• Yambio Compiles Results

17-Apr-2010

• EU Observers Declare Elections Did Not Meet International Standards
• NCP Rejects EU Observer Statement
• Carter Center Critical of Elections Procedures
• No Security Problems in Darfur During Voting Says HEC
• Counting Delayed in Unity State As Pay Dispute Continues
• NEC Announces Election Re-run in 17 Constituencies
• SHEC Staff in Juba Refuse to Begin Count Until Salaries Arrive
• Failure to Pay Arrears Delays Count in Unity
• Musician Attacked in Juba

Don't rubbish Sudan elections - Former U.S. President Carter will be among the official observers

Don't rubbish Sudan elections
From Cif Guardian.co.uk
By Simon Tisdall, Friday 9 April 2010:

The elections won't be perfect, but the chorus of condemnation from those pursuing a Darfur-focused agenda misses the point



A Sudanese man kisses a picture of President Omar al-Bashir at a protest against the arrest warrant issued against him last year. Photograph: Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty

Not a single vote has yet been cast in Sudan's elections but already international pressure groups and domestic opponents of the current government are queuing up to rubbish the process. This chorus of condemnation seems a little premature. It also misses the point. While it's likely the polls will be flawed in important respects, in a fundamental sense, that does not matter. For the major players inside and outside Sudan, the elections, beginning on Sunday, are merely a staging post on a much longer journey.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court, is among the most outspoken critics. He said sending EU and African Union observers to monitor the vote was a waste of time. "It's like monitoring a Hitler election," he said. Moreno-Ocampo urged western countries to concentrate instead on arresting Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, charged by the ICC with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Moreno-Ocampo has a particular axe to grind. Like the Waging Peace and the Save Darfur Coalition pressure groups, broader issues of democratic governance and implementation of the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) that ended Sudan's ruinous north-south civil war take second place, in his view, to the importance of avenging Darfur and arraigning Bashir in The Hague.

"It is clear to all observers that these much heralded 'multi-party elections' have never been more than an attempt by [Bashir] to legitimise his position in the eyes of the international community," said Sophie McCann of Waging Peace. The process was "unsalvageable". For its part, Save Darfur seized on the partial poll boycott by some opposition parties to urge the US, Britain and others to disown the whole business and condemn Bashir's "dictatorial rule".

Mixed motives also lie behind the decision of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the main southern political party, to boycott polling in Darfur and the north. The SPLM and other opposition groups have voiced concerns about the accuracy of the 2008 census on which voting is based, the ruling National Congress party's (NCP) monopoly of state resources, and alleged bias of the national elections commission.

These worries are shared by independent organisations such as the Carter Centre (former US president Jimmy Carter is due in Sudan with 60 observers) and the International Crisis Group, which says many displaced Darfuris will be denied a vote. Human Rights Watch accuses both the government and the SPLM of intimidating political rivals, although the picture is mixed. Overall, media controls have been relaxed and some opposition leaders have been give airtime.

Yet Sudan experts say it's clear that the SPLM's main concern is not the elections at all, but rather avoiding any delay to January's CPA-directed referendum on southern independence (which is widely expected to result in Sudan's partition). Thus its decision not to contest the presidential or parliamentary votes in northern areas suits Bashir's NCP very well, despite protestations to the contrary. The unspoken deal is plain enough: Bashir the bogeyman gets re-elected and relegitimised, while the south (comprising 25% of the population) and its US-backed president, Salva Kiir, gets independence (and 50% of Sudan's oil wealth).

Political opportunism and pragmatism have combined neatly. "The SPLM decided to pull out simply because they know they are not going to win the presidency," said NCP official Omar Rahma in an al-Jazeera interview. Nor does the SPLM seem troubled by the fact that its unilateral decision to mount a partial boycott threw other opposition parties, with which it was supposedly co-ordinating, into confusion. That the SPLM boycott worries western pressure groups is a measure of their naivety.

The Obama administration and Britain cannot be accused of such credulousness. What they most want from these elections is already clear – and it is not a democratic showcase or Bashir's arrest. They want north-south deals on border demarcation and oil-revenue sharing, settlements in trouble spots such as Abyei and South Kordofan, and a successful independence referendum as envisaged by the CPA. The US, in particular, sees a future southern Sudanese republic as an important ally.

The western powers see in this outcome the prospect of a final, lasting peace in Darfur, wider regional stability encompassing Chad, and ultimately, Khartoum's rehabilitation. A recent joint statement by the foreign secretary David Miliband and the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton set priorities: "Irrespective of the outcome of elections, it is essential that work continues and is accelerated to meet remaining CPA deadlines."

Predictions that Sudan's elections will produce an Afghanistan-style fiasco of rigging and recrimination misunderstand the position. All the main actors want a success, and that is what they will most probably deem the polls to be, with the usual caveats and reservations, almost whatever the outcome. This conformity of purpose elicited a remarkable boast from Bashir, speaking in Sinar on the Blue Nile last week: "Even America is becoming an NCP member. No one is against our will."

Simon Tisdall (pictured above) is an assistant editor of the Guardian and a foreign affairs columnist. He was previously a foreign leader writer for the paper and has also served as its foreign editor and its US editor, based in Washington DC. He was the Observer's foreign editor from 1996-98

Further reading



Former US President Jimmy Carter speaks to reporters as he arrives at Khartoum International Airport, ahead of the country's national elections on April 11. "We are hoping and praying that it will be a fair and honest election for those are participating," Carter said. (AFP/Ashraf Shazly Thu Apr 8, 2010)



Former US President Jimmy Carter, left, leaves after speaking to the media following his arrival in the capital Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 8, 2010. The Carter Center said Thursday that former President Jimmy Carter will be among the official observers when Sudan conducts national elections next week. (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)



A Sudanese man reads a newspaper under posters of presidential candidates in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)



A campaign poster for Sudan People's Liberation Movement's southern presidential candidate Salva Kiir hangs from a tree in a remote village in Dongoi in Western Equatorial State, April 7, 2010. (Reuters/Finbarr O'Reilly)



Sudanese election officials receive training during a mock voting session ahead of Sunday's general election, in the village of Mvolo in Western Equatorial State, April 7, 2010. (Reuters/Finbarr O'Reilly)



Workers from the National Elections Commission (NEC) prepare polling boxes at the central NEC ballot distribution center in Khartoum April 8, 2010. (Reuters/Mohamed Nurdldin)



Workers from the National Elections Commission (NEC) carry polling boxes at the central NEC ballot distribution center in Khartoum April 8, 2010. (Reuters/Mohamed Nurdldi)



A Sudanese worker from the National Elections Commission (NEC) checks ballot boxes at the central NEC ballot distribution center of Khartoum April 8, 2010 (Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah)



Sonia, a French adviser for the Sudanese National Elections Commission (NEC), checks ballot boxes at the central NEC ballot distribution center of Khartoum April 8, 2010. (Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah)



A Sudanese worker loads election material including ballot papers and voting booths into a waiting helicopter of the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur, UNAMID to be transported to the voting center of the north Darfur town of Mellit, in the airport of el Fasher, Darfur, Sudan Thursday, April 8, 2010. Preparations continue for the upcoming multiparty general elections in Sudan starting on April 13. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



A Sudanese refugee boy walks past a UNAMID (African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur) vehicle near a polling station at Abou Shouk refugee camp, on the outskirts of the north Darfur capital of el Fasher, Sudan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



A UNAMID (African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur) peacekeeper stands guard near a polling station, in background, at Abou Shouk refugee camp, on the outskirts of the North Darfur capital of el Fasher, Sudan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



Sudanese refugee boys stand by a UNAMID (African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur) peacekeeper guarding a nearby polling station at Abou Shouk refugee camp, on the outskirts of the North Darfur capital of el Fasher, Sudan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



UNAMID (African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur) peacekeepers patrol the area surrounding a polling station at Abou Shouk refugee camp, on the outskirts of the north Darfur capital of el Fasher, Sudan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



Sudanese police patrol in the town of Al Fasher, northern Darfur April 8, 2010. (Reuters/Zohra Bensemra)



European Union chief elections observer Veronique De Keyser speaks to journalists at Abu Shouk camp outside El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, April 7, 2010. (Reuters/Andrew Heavens)



European Union election observers leave El Fasher airport in North Darfur, led by EU chief observer Veronique De Keyser (centre), April 7, 2010. The European Union on Wednesday withdrew its election observers from Sudan's Darfur region, saying safety fears were hindering their work. (Reuters/Andrew Heavens)



A European Union election observer boards a plane at El Fasher airport in North Darfur April 7, 2010. (Reuters/Andrew Heavens)



A Sudanese woman crosses the street infront of a vehicle with electoral posters on the hood at the main market of the Darfur town of el Fasher, Sudan Thursday, April 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)



A disabled woman on a tricycle rides past campaign posters for the upcoming April 11 presidential and legislative elections in the town of Al Fasher, northern Darfur April 8, 2010. (Reuters/Zohra Bensemra)



A Sudanese woman uses her mobile while passing by electoral posters at the main market of the Darfur town of el Fasher, Sudan Thursday, April 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Confused Signals From SPLM Over Northern Boycott - Or Is It Withdrawal?
SRS - Friday, 9 April 2010 (Juba) – SPLM chairman Salva Kiir Mayardit says his party has withdrawn its candidate for the presidency, Yasir Arman, but has not called for a general boycott of the elections in the north, as announced on Wednesday by the SPLM secretary-general, Pagan Amum.

SSHEC Satisfied With Progress of Elections Run-Up
SRS - Friday, 9 April 2010 (Merowe) – President Omar al-Bashir has reiterated that there will be free and fair elections throughout the country. Addressing the public during the official opening of a hydro-electric plant at Merowe Dam on Thursday, President al-Bashir said elections which will begin on Sunday will be free of any irregularities. President al-Bashir was speaking at Merowe Dam, at the end of his presidential campaign.

Al-Bashir Says Elections Shall Be Fair Because It Is God's Will
SRS - Friday, 9 April 2010 (Juba) – The South Sudan High Elections Committee has described the campaign period for the April elections as ‘peaceful and without irregularities’. Jersa Kide Barsaba told SRS that the Committee has only received one official complaint which it could not verify.



Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter speaks to the press after meeting officials of the national election commission at their headquarters in Khartoum April 9, 2010. Sudan's first multi-party elections in 24 years are on track to start on Sunday, with Khartoum dismissing a U.S. suggestion that it would consider supporting a brief delay to ensure greater stability. (Reuters/Mohamed Nurdldin Fri Apr 9, 1:11 PM ET)



International observers from the U.S.-based Carter Center prepare to leave for Sudan's Northern states to monitor voting, in Khartoum April 9, 2010. Reuters/Mohamed Nurdldin Fri Apr 9, 1:38 PM ET)