problems but not fraud.
MUGORO, Sudan - After nearly three days of voting in Sudan,
logistical problems abound but there has been no proven fraud
in the country's first competitive election in two decades,
former US president Jimmy Carter said on Tuesday.
Carter, who is leading a team of 70 observers, welcomed a decision by the
National Election Commission to extend by another two days the three-day
vote that kicked off Sunday, saying that should be adequate to allow
everyone to vote.
"There are some problems but they are trying to be corrected and I think
it's a very good decision by the NEC to extend the voting for two more
days," he said, sitting under the welcome shade of a tree in Mugoro, south
Sudan
"I think these two extra days will probably be enough," he added."
The national, local and presidential polls -- Sudan's first multi-party
elections since 1986 -- are going ahead despite logistical hurdles and
opposition boycotts on suspicions that President Omar el-Beshir will declare
himself victorious no matter what the outcome.
"We heard of some reports of intimidation of voters, but I'd say the main
problems so far have been the lack of materials -- inadequate delivery of
proper ballots for certain elections," Carter said.
He also said people could not always find their names on electoral lists.
"Those are administrative problems but no evidence of fraud so far as I
know. But it's still too early to judge the integrity of the entire
process," Carter added.
"The first stations we visited this morning were waiting for ballots for the
State Assembly, and we talked to the (officials) who said they would be
there in an hour. I visited twenty stations in the south yesterday," said
the 85-year-old former president, who is heading one of several
international monitoring teams.
In a country where most people have never voted and many are illiterate, the
complex elections pose a unique challenge.
The SPLM described the first day of polling as "wasted" due to a raft of
procedural problems and irregularities, and it had demanded the vote be
extended.
Opposition parties accuse the National Congress Party of Beshir, who seized
power in a coup in 1989, of plotting to fake an election victory.
In the north, the SPLM had already pulled out its presidential candidate
Yasser Arman, while former prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi of the northern
opposition Umma party also withdrew.
In the south, SPLM chief and the current president of the autonomous south,
Salva Kiir, is standing for the southern presidency.
"As you know these elections are a necessary pre-requisite for the
referendum. You can't have a referendum until after this election is
completed. So it's necessary to have this election," Carter said, a queue of
voters waiting patiently behind him.
Asked if there had been any threats against observers so far, Carter said,
"I don't have any concern about safety; we haven't had any threats at all to
our observers."
Many in Sudan fear the announcement of election results could lead to
tensions or even clashes in parts of the country, but Carter said that
depended on the reactions of the winners and the losers.
"If the winners are gracious and welcome the opposition to join them in a
unity government preparing for the next step, I think that would greatly
reduce the chance of violence," he said.
Before leaving Mugoro, Carter visited the village's large cathedral, and
then proceeded to Khartoum via Juba.
Sudan says voter turnout at '54 to 67 percent'
Sudan's national election commission says allegations of fraud not been
specific.
2010-04-13
KHARTOUM - Sudan's national election commission said on Tuesday that voter
turnout by the third day of polling in the country's landmark election
ranged between 54 and 67 percent.
"According to reports we have received from all the states, the percentage
of people voting is between 54 percent and 67 percent," said Abdallah Ahmed
Abdallah, vice chairman of the NEC.
He did not elaborate on the numbers.
The election kicked off to a chaotic start on Sunday, prompting the
commission to extend the process by two days to end on Thursday.
"The problems we faced in the first and second days are decreasing and the
process is going well in (the western Sudanese region of) Darfur," Abdallah
told reporters in Khartoum.
He said the commission was studying complaints from various parties, in
Sudan's first multi-party election since 1986, but he said allegations of
fraud had not been specific.
"They didn't inform us where and how and when it took place," Abdallah said.
The first day was marred by logistical problems and delays. The names of
thousands of voters did not appear on the official lists while others were
misspelled.
Other problems included polling stations opening late, candidates' lists
containing mistakes and some voters not knowing where they were registered.
In Khartoum, officials reported a shortage of ballot boxes.
"We have a shortage of 3,000 ballot boxes. We tried to solve this problem by
bringing boxes in from Gezira state and Red Sea state," Mussa Mahjoub who
heads the NEC in Khartoum.
He said there were complaints that symbols of candidates -- needed to help
those who can't read -- had been changed.
Sudanese were voting for their president, as well as legislative and local
representatives.
Southerners were also voting for the leader of the autonomous government of
south Sudan.
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