Fiercely competitive
While the result of the presidential poll holds little suspense, elections for parliamentary and local representatives are still fiercely competitive in many parts of the country.
Election organizers rushed on Saturday to get ballot papers to remoter parts of the country.
Sixteen airplanes, 16 helicopters and more than 2,000 vehicles have been mobilized in the past two weeks to transport ballot boxes around the country.
President Bashir also deployed 100,000 police across northern Sudan to guard the polling stations and ward off unrest during three days of voting.
“I hope that it will be completely compatible with international standards, and safe and free and fair, and that the decision of individual voters will be expressed freely without intimidation,” said former U.S. president Jimmy Carter whose Carter Centre is monitoring the vote.
These are “very troubled potential times (and) we hope it will be safe and free,” Carter said.
“We know that there are no perfect elections, and these polls will not be an exception to that rule,” said Abdallah Ahmed Abdallah, a top official at Sudan’s electoral commission.
“These elections will not suddenly transform Sudan into a democratic society. That will take time and experience.”
Carter said on Friday that he expected polling to proceed without major hurdles, although some delays could be expected in more remote areas.
“We see no reasons for any concern except on a few isolated stations way out,” said the former U.S. leader.
Voting materials “may get there a bit late, but they will have three days at least in which to vote,” he told reporters in the capital.
In the run-up to the elections, opposition parties accused Bashir’s ruling National Congress of fraud, particularly when the contract for ballot papers was given to a state-owned printer arousing suspicions of potential ballot stuffing.
Source: Al Arabia
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