SUDAN 5-12 Apr 2010 Civil war-scarred country sets date for milestone general election

Sudan has set a date for voters to choose a national president, a Southern Sudan president, governors of the country's 25 states, a National Assembly, the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly and state assemblies. If it is not derailed, this first multi-party election in Africa's largest country in 20-plus years will represent a monumental achievement. A civil war legacy, ongoing conflict, census disputes and the logistical challenge of an election in a country with minimal infrastructure threaten the effort.

The Darfurian amalgamation referendum, due in Jul 2010, could be moved to April to match the general election. A referendum on independence for Southern Sudan – where at least 2 million people were killed, 4 million others uprooted and 600,000 more fled across the borders during the 20 years of one of Africa’s bloodiest civil wars – is slated for 2011.

Sudan's large oil deposits are central to the ongoing violence, as foreign governments and companies vie for lucrative concessions.

Sixty-nine political parties have registered to contest the national and regional elected offices. The United Nations is planning to help the country with the logistic and monitoring. The former rebels from the south, are expected to field a candidate against President Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicted for war crimes in Darfur by the International Criminal Court.

The election results from the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement ended 20 years of fighting between the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) separatists in the south and the national government in the north. The peace deal gave the south a semi-autonomous government and provided for a referendum on independence for the south.

The southerners claim that they represent a third of Sudan's total population while the census stated a much smaller number, and the census disagreement is one of many issues that could derail the vote.

The UN chief electoral affairs officer in Sudan, Ray Kennedy, told a news briefing in August that the Sudanese organizers were facing a series of problems. One challenge was the election's complexity, with six votes running at the same time using a range of voting methods. Aug/09

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Sudan facing most complex elections on record: UN (Reuters 5 Aug 2009)
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