Observers remained in their polling stations throughout the day and reported through their respective county and state coordinators to data collection and analysis centers for SuNDE in Juba and SuGDE in Khartoum, where the reports were verified for quality and analyzed impartially according to standards for non-partisan election observation. SuGDE and SuNDE shared their observations and findings and developed this fact-based statement, released simultaneously at press conferences in Khartoum and Juba, respectively.

Below are the report’s executive summary and a selection from the 15 graphs included in the Statement. the report is divided into two parts, one by the SUGDE of activities in the north and the other by SuNDE of activities in the south. This report and others are available in our reference library.

(Source: Election Statement by The Sudanese Group for Democracy and Elections (SuGDE) and the Sudanese Network for Democratic Elections (SuNDE) by National Democratic Institute for International Affairs - April 24, 2010)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• The April 2010 elections were a requirement for moving forward with implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). However, the elections did not fulfill the Interim Constitution’s and CPA’s aspirations for democratic transition and did not adequately meet the requirements of the National Elections Commission rules and regulations. Sudanese citizens demonstrated their desire for democracy without a doubt through their registering, voting and participating in lively political debate in these elections. Extraordinary efforts are required to achieve democratic governance, and SuNDE and SuGDE will seek to contribute constructively to securing peace and democratic progress. The hopes of citizens should not be allowed to slip away.
• SuNDE and SuGDE observed that the National Elections Commission (NEC) failed to adequately plan and prepare for the elections. The polling stations observed often lacked essential election materials to open on time or ran out of essential materials during the polling process. The inefficiency of the NEC to develop or publicize the polling station list and final voters’ lists in a timely manner also caused substantial confusion and potentially the disenfranchisement of a significant number of voters.

(Source: Election Statement by The Sudanese Group for Democracy and Elections (SuGDE) and the Sudanese Network for Democratic Elections (SuNDE) by National Democratic Institute for International Affairs - April 24, 2010)

• SuGDE and SuNDE observed that while the administration of the elections was deficient throughout Sudan, in Southern Sudan the administration of the elections was observed to be more problematic.
• SuGDE and SuNDE observed several positive aspects to the elections. Voters turned out in large numbers and conducted themselves in a largely peaceful manner. Polling officials showed a strong commitment to fulfilling their responsibilities, particularly given the difficult circumstances. Thousands of citizens volunteered with civic organizations to observe the election and stayed through all 7 days of the polling and the counting process.
• SuNDE and SuGDE recognize that this was the first election in Sudan since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and understand that the complexity of the electoral process and difficult logistical environment of Sudan made running this election challenging.

(Source: Election Statement by The Sudanese Group for Democracy and Elections (SuGDE) and the Sudanese Network for Democratic Elections (SuNDE) by National Democratic Institute for International Affairs - April 24, 2010)

• However, SuGDE and SuNDE recorded significant flaws in the election process at the polling stations observed
• SuNDE recognized that in South Sudan the political parties actively participated in the election however, SuNDE observers noted a need for parties, candidates, and their supporters or agents to better understand their roles in the electoral process, particularly regarding interfering with the polling process
• SuGDE notes that in the North of Sudan leading political parties boycotted the elections which deprived citizens of choice and made the elections confusing and less competitive.
• SuNDE was concerned by the troubling number of incidents of intimidation and harassment reported by its observers in South Sudan, particularly by party and candidate agents and supporters, and unknown and unauthorized security personnel.

(Source: Election Statement by The Sudanese Group for Democracy and Elections (SuGDE) and the Sudanese Network for Democratic Elections (SuNDE) by National Democratic Institute for International Affairs - April 24, 2010)

• SuGDE was concerned by incidents of violence, intimidation and harassment in Southern Kordofan, Western Darfur, Northern Darfur and Sinnar
• SuGDE and SuNDE are deeply concerned that the electoral process did not meet citizen’s expectations and failed to fully embrace democratic principles at the polling stations observed
• SuNDE and SuGDE urge all election stakeholders to learn from these elections and apply those lessons to improve the transparency and credibility of future elections, including the 2011 Referendum.

(source: A mugshot of Omar al-Bashir taken from Girifna Facebook page.)

These government tactics also led to the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. Charges of genocide are pending review.

A Geoffrey York article published yesterday in The Globe and Mail, introduced me to a dissident group based in Khartoum called Girifna, which according to their website literally means “we are disgusted” and metaphorically, “we have had enough.” They describe their beginning:

In the evening of October 30, 2009 a group of three friends in Khartoum noticed on the eve of registration day that Sudanese citizens had no information about where to go to register and no national campaigning by the government or civil society groups was taking place. This was a problem, because no registration meant no voting. The group was propelled to start a peaceful quest for change based on a campaign that urges citizens to register so that they have a role in ridding the country of the National Congress Party (NCP) that has ruled for 20 years through a military coup. On the following day the group printed informational brochures urging people to register and they received support from many others who helped with the funding and distribution.

(source: Girifna logo taken from their Facebook page.)

Voter education is Sudan is important, particularly since there has not been any multiparty elections in the country since 1986, so much of the population have never had the opportunity to choosing their government representatives.

High illiteracy rates throughout the country—particularly in outlying regions in the South, Darfur and elsewhere—makes voter education necessary to consider the elections free and fair. With government control of most of the media landscape, popular education like handing out anti-establishment voter education pamphlets (see video below) by Girifna activists is indeed an act of bravery.

(source: Girifna)

In fact, I just copied this from the @girifna titter feed: “2 OF our guys were beaten and arrested by the NCP in Ombada Khartoum and now we r in the police station.” Considering the group is only five-and-a-half months old, a test of their bravery may just be getting started… Solidarity!

Maggie Fick wrote an interesting article from Juba, Southern Sudan after meeting with Girifna members.

The voting period that started on Sunday, April 11 will end in the evening of April 15. Results were scheduled to be released by April 18 but the two-day polling extension may push the results announcement back as well.

—
Girifna Soap Advertizement (the photo on the shirt is the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir):

Members of Girifna hand out information pamphlets:

It has been five years since the end of a 21-year civil war between the government of Sudan and the southern SPLM rebels that killed two million people and displaced more than four million others in Africa’s largest country. According to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the people of Southern Sudan will probably vote in a self-determination referendum in 2010 that is expected to result in a seperation vote.

The detailed results of this week’s elections are uncertain, but Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will almost certainly win the presidency of Sudan and Salva Kiir Mayardit is expected to win the Presidency of Southern Sudan’s semi-autonomous region. But these anticipated results are not without controversy during these elections when votes will be cast for two presidents, 24 governors and 26 state and national assemblies on up to 12 different ballots. The logistical challenges for holding these elections have already shown errors.

Africa correspondent for The Globe and Mail, Geoffrey York, has reported via Twitter that cardboard polling booths tend to blow away in the wind, that some polling stations failed to open on time because polling material had yet to arrive, or had received the wrong polling papers, that some polling stations stayed open three hours longer than planned, and that there is talk of adding a fourth day of polling to the elections.

Reuters reported that “confusion soon erupted on Sunday as centre after centre, sometimes hours into the voting, discovered that voters were using the wrong ballot papers or that names or symbols of candidates were either missing or incorrect.”

(source: SPLM Voices)

Most of the six million registered voters are participating in elections for the first time. With low literacy rates, particularly in the South, Darfur and other mostly-rural regions of Sudan, understanding the process (and the ballot papers themselves) cannot be taken for granted. The Guardian wrote that “the southern president, Salva Kiir Mayardit – himself a first-time voter – had to wait for nearly half an hour for his polling station to open, and then spoiled his first vote by dropping it in the wrong box.”

Concerns of election rigging were detailed in a March 30 policy briefing from the International Crisis Group as well as the consequences of a win by current President Omar al-Bashir, who has an arrest warrant against him for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur by the International Criminal Court.

The report accused the Khartoum government of manipulating the 2008 Fifth Population and Housing Census “by not counting opponents”. The NCP government were also accused of “drawing electoral constituencies to favour its candidates”, by drafting biased election laws, of tampering with voter registration and “the failure of the National Elections Commission (NEC) to properly train its registration officials and to conduct civic education campaigns nationwide.”

The NEC was also under fire for deciding to change the printer of the presidential and gubernatorial ballot papers from a Slovenian firm to the government’s own Sudanese Currency Printing Corporation. Potential tampering of the ballots quickly became a concern, as opposition parties demanded a probe into the ballots.

Government repression of opposition candidates, from both the NCP in the north and SPLM in the south, have been documented.

One day after the release of the ICC policy briefing, the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement withdrew its presidential candidate, Yasir Arman, from the electoral race for Sudan’s presidency because of continued conflict in Darfur and “election irregularities.” The SPLM has since decided to boycott all polling in the 13 states in the north. Other opposition parties have also chosen to boycott the elections. The boycott is designed to delegitimize the expected results of a win for Omar al-Bashir that would be gained by government rigging the electoral process.

The voting is to finish on April 13 (or maybe April 14 if there is an extension) with results scheduled to be declared on April 18.

(source: Sudan Votes)

[Montréal, Québec, Canada 3°C] Controversy is nothing new in Sudanese politics. Election songs by Sudanese musicians brings a breath of fresh air to the political wrangling of Sudan’s election campaign.

In recent days, we have learnt about the election ballots papers being printed by the governmental currency printer, the threat by Omar al Bashir to expell international election observers, thousands of missing names on voter lists in Eastern Equatoria, or the SPLM refusing the Sudanese Armed Forces to transport ballot papers to Southern Sudan.

It’s time to bring a bit of artistic creativity into the fold. Maybe spontaneous dancing will bring people together outside music shops in the markets of Juba and Khartoum, outside radio stations in Malualkon or Rumbek.

Sudan Votes asked musicians from all areas of Sudan to produce songs to promote peaceful, political participation in the upcoming April elections. On April 11, 2010, Sudanese will participate in the first elections in the country since 1986. Most people will have never voted before and popular education is an important facet to public participation.

The message of the music is “Yes to political participation! Yes to fair and peaceful elections!” A sort of election anthem. More than 120 submissions were received and 12 finalists were chosen by Sudan Votes journalists and German folk, soul and rap artist, Max Herre. Emmanuel Jal figures prominently among the finalists. I particularly like the track by Emannuel Kembe that you can listen to below.

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The above tune is one of the 12  chosen tracks included on the Sudan Votes, Music Hopes cassette compilation that is distributed throughout the country.

(source: Sudan Votes)

All of the 12 tracks can be downloaded from the project website for free but people are encouraged to make a donation. The total donations will be divided evenly among the 12 artists in an equitable democratic process: Download what you like while supporting the initiative of each of the artists.

It reminds me… I bought six cassette tapes in the Aweil market during my last visit to Southern Sudan and I haven’t played them yet. I guess it’s time to dust off the old tape deck and give them a listen!

A Sudanese policeman guards election boxes and kits inside a warehouse in Khartoum March 17, 2010. Sudan will hold its first multi-party elections in 24 years in April. (REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

Opposition party Umma Reform and Renewal Party (URRP) accused the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) of granting contracts for the printing of the election ballots to printers inside Sudan. UNMIS denied the accusations, saying that they regret the news reports that their Chief Electoral Affairs Officer was involved. According to China Radio International (CRI) English news service, “UNMIS spokesperson categorically dismisses such an allegation as unfounded.”

In a later Reuters report published on AlertNet, opposition parties are demanding an investigation into the Sudanese printing company who holds a contract to print the ballots for executive offices that include presidential and gubernatorial positions. Apparently, the UNDP had planned to give the contract to a Slovenian printer but the NEC intervened and gave it to the Sudanese Currency Printing Corporation, the government printer that also prints Sudan’s currency. It is unclear why the UNDP did not report the irregularity.

Other ballot papers were awarded by the UNDP to South African and British printing companies. Fears of potential fraud are mounting as the Sudanese Currency Printing Corporation could conceivably print illegal ballot papers to manipulate election results by stuffing ballot boxes.  This opens the door to the dispute of election results after the voting period and increase instability in an already volatile setting.

(source: Elections Assistance Bulletin UNDP Feb 2010)

Census and Voter Registration

A Juba resident makes her registration for the Natonal Elections in April 2010, by Bonifacio Taban.

There are prerequisites to conducting a democratic election that include a census of the population to determine who can vote and in which electoral constituency. The Sudan census has been contested by the SPLM and analysed by others.

Citizens are required to add themselves to the voter list during the voter registration process, followed by a verification of the voter list after its publication. The Carter Center provided observers to provide an impartial assessment of the process. Registration of political party lists with their representatives ended yesterday after a seven-day extension. 

Political Campaigning

Once the politicians place themselves inside the arena of an election, democratic principles require than they are able to voice their positions in an election campaign. This is when they can criticize current government practices and provide an alternative approaches to governence that will make the electorate choose them on a ballot. In Sudan, elections campaigning begins on February 13 and ends on April 9, two days before voting begins.

The Sudan Electionnaire is an English/Arabic quiz that will compare you view on 30 debated issues with the positions of the 16 main parties for the upcoming elections. Once the set of questions are completed a ranking shows how your answers match party programmes. A very interesting tool that was released by The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Sudan, the University of Khartoum Institute of Peace Research with funding from the UK Department for International Development.

Media Coverage

Thousands of wind-up and solar-powered blue radios distributed by NDI in Sudan are bringing a dialogue about national issues to isolated communities. (courtesy: National Democratic Institute)

Even before campaigning starts, the media’s role in election coverage is crucial. Radio, television, print, online media and ‘under-the-village-tree’ journalists act as messengers between the voters and those seeking votes. Journalists provide analysis and perspective to the public debate and hold politicians accountable to their proposed platforms and promises as the campaign progresses. They also provide an amplified mouthpeice to citizens wishing to express their opinions to the politicians and other citizens. Sudan Votes, another website affiliated with Sudan Electionnaire, has election reporting resources including a media code of conduct, a Reuters Reporter’s Guide to Election Coverage (.pdf), election broadcast guidelines, and media election process reference material.

Voter Education

Sudan has not held elections in 24 years and a civil war raged in the country for most of those years, so the election process is not well known by the Sudanese. With literacy rates among the lowest in the world (see chart below), particualrly in poorly developed Southern Sudan and Darfur, voter education is a significant challenge if the April elections are to be fair and democratic. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) prepared a Sudan Civic and Voter Education Baseline Study (.pdf) in 2008 with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency.

Electoral System

Typical elections might require the selection of one, two or three representatives. (view a clip, below, of the first presidential election in Afghanistan,  in 2004) In Southern Sudan, each electorate will have twelve (12) representatives to choose from for three levels of government.

Three votes will be cast to select 1) the President of the Republic of Sudan, 2) the President of the Government of Southern Sudan, and 3) the respective State Governor.

North versus South Sudan Statistics (courtesy: Oxfam, UN)

Southern Sudanese will have three votes to cast for each of the following three legislatures: 1) the National Assembly in Khartoum, 2) the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly in Juba, and 3) the State Legislative Assembly in their respective State. Each of the three legislature votes is divided into three components: 1) 60% of the members are elected to represent geographical constituencies at their respective levels, 2) 25% of the seats are to be filled by women members elected by proportional representation from party lists at state level, and 3) 15% of the members are elected by proportional representation also from party lists at the state level.

Considering the above literacy and education rates in Southern Sudan, it will take considerable effort to educate the average electorate about the details of such a complex ballot system.

Ballot Papers

Drafting ballot papers that will allow illiterate citizens to make their selection is a design challenge of mammoth proportions. There are at least sixteen political parties vying for votes in Sudan. Many of the parties are represented on the twelve seperate ballots in the South. Each ballot will have to distinguish each representative from the other, and a ballot will need to quickly depict which seat in which legislative assembly are the representatives seeking election. They elaborate electoral system will all have to be represented visually and comprehensively in a complex election that can confuse experienced literate voters.

Polling Stations

The logistical demands of establishing up to 30,000 polling stations, printing approximately 220 million ballot papers representing the various constituencies, then distributing them—with the ballot boxes and other material—to each of the polling locations is daunting in itself. It is particularly challenging in a country the size of Sudan where lack of basic infrastructure, community remoteness and insecurity can interfere with the most coordinated of efforts.

Sudan’s April 2010 elections may be the most complex elections ever organized. Anywhere. Considering that a self-determination referendum is expected in 2011, one wonders if it would have been more realistic and appropriate to hold a simpler election process. Perhaps it would have been sufficient to elect only the three executive seats: President of the Republic of Sudan, President of the Government of Southern Sudan and Governor of each state. The simplification could have left constituent representative elections for a post-referendum Sudan, which most observers agree will result in a yes vote for independence of the South from the rest of Sudan.

—

Watch a video clip by Dominique Morissette of Afghanistan’s first presidential elections held on November 9, 2004. The video is best viewed in full-screen mode.

Sudanese children in Juba promote voter registration by handing out posters (Peter Martel, IRIN)

Although the registration in the south began slowly, according to UNDP staff working with the National Election Commission (NEC), it quickly gained momentum in Southern Sudan. The SPLM-controlled region ended voter registration with a higher than average registration rate of around 86%. Today is the last day of the exhibition and objection process whereby a review of the registry is possible. The registration’s final result will be released by the NEC tomorrow.

This high rate of registration in the south may be due to a political pro-registration campaign from the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) which claims that data from the 2008 census underestimates the number of Southerners. The difference may also reflect a high number of people that returned to South since the census. What is interesting is the high turnout in northern states of Southern Sudan.

Mawien Kuc, National Election Commission Chairperson for Northern Bahr el Ghazal (a Southern Sudan state that borders northern Sudan) told the Sudan Tribune , “We will have over one million people registered and ready to take part in the next national election scheduled to take place in April 2010.” Mawien Kuc said, “I am telling you that we really committed our resources for proper mobilization of our people during registration.”

Sudan finances the majority of the registration process while 43% comes from donors.

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SOUTHERN SUDAN ELECTION PREPARATIONS (UNMIS)

National Elections Commission voter registry poster

[Montréal, Québec, Canada -6°C] today is the beginning of the seven-day display of Sudan’s Voter’s Registry. It is a time for people to confirm that their names are on the registry. Not much information about registration results is available nor of the numbers of people who have registered nor percentages of registrants versus eligible voters. This is a time when confusion may emerge while unregistered people check the list and realize that they are not on it and not be able to vote in next year’s April elections.

Al Jazeera’s Inside Story asks if Sudan’s elections can take place on time without a reform to the electoral laws. In this episode, aired yesterday, (Tuesday Dec. 8, 2009) included a discussion with:

• Abdelwahab El-Affendi Senior Research Fellow at the University of Westminster Centre for the Study of Democracy who was in London England;
• Rabie Abdul Atti, Advisor to Sudan’s Ministry of Information who was in Khartoum, Sudan; and
• Ali Al Haj Mohamed, the Deputy Secretary General of Sudan’s Popular Congress Party who was in Bonn, Germany.

A state of mistrust between the partners for peace currently ruling Sudan has put the old North/South rivals back on a collison course. Three senior leaders of the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) were briefly held on Monday in a police crackdown against opposition protests which demanded changes to the country’s electoral law.

Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, condemned the arrests, saying they broke the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005 that ended a devastating 22-year civil war between North and South. Police had announced that the electoral reform demonstrations would be considered illegal. However, several hundred opposition protesters marched through the streets of Khartoum and Omdurman, waving placards and chanting: “We want our freedom.”

The SPLM and the ruling NCP of Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, have failed to agree on democratic reforms ahead of elections next April.

The SPLM’s Arman, left, and Amum, right, after their release in Khartoum [AFP].

Al Jazeera reports that confirm that Pagan Amum, SPLM’s Secretary General, Yassir Arman, Deputy Secretary General of SPLM in the north, and Abbas Gummas, state minister in the coalition government, were arrested during the rally and later released.

In reaction the the arrests, protesters in the Southern towns of Wau and Rumbek set fire to the NCP offices in those towns. A statement issued by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, emphasized the “central importance of political rights and freedoms, especially in the lead-up to elections and referendum.”

Voter registration is now closed and results will eventually be made public to uncertain reaction.

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Further Reading:

- Sudan Arrests SPLM SG Pagan Amum and Yasir Arman (Sudan Tribune)

- Sudanese Government Cracks Down on Opposition (Enough Project)

- UN Envoy Calls On Parties to Abide by Peace Pact in Wake of Political Violence (UN News Service)

- Sudanese Regime Crackdown Requires International Crackdown on Sudanese Regime (The Huffington Post)