From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Fri Apr 03 2009 - 11:00:58 EST
Sudan calls presidential, parliament vote for 2010
Fri Apr 3, 2009 4:50pm GMT
* Sudan to hold parliamentary and presidential votes in 2010
* Former southern rebels cautiously welcome the move
* Dominant party says would welcome observers
(Adds more reaction)
By Andrew Heavens
KHARTOUM, April 3 (Reuters) - Sudan will hold parliamentary and presidential
elections in February 2010, a major step toward implementing a frayed
north-south peace deal although the vote will take place later than planned.
The vote would be the first democratic national election in more than 20
years in Sudan, and is the centrepiece of a 2005 peace deal that ended over
two decades of north-south civil war, a conflict separate from violence in
Darfur.
"The results will be declared by the end of February. The voting will take
place earlier in the month," Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, deputy chairman of
Sudan's National Electoral Commission, told Reuters on Thursday.
Abdullah said six elections would be held -- for the presidency and
parliament, the south Sudanese presidency, state governors, the southern
parliament and state assemblies.
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is under growing pressure over
Darfur, where international experts say 200,000 people have been killed in
almost six years of ethnic and politically driven fighting.
The International Criminal Court last month issued an arrest warrant for
Bashir on accusations of war crimes in Darfur, where Khartoum says 10,000
people have died.
MORE WORK NEEDED
Ibrahim Ghandour, a senior official in the dominant National Congress Party,
welcomed the commission's decision.
"The most positive thing to us is that now the election is in process. We
hope that this will be the start for all political parties of going towards
fair and transparent elections," he said, adding that his party would
welcome local, regional and international election observers.
Yien Matthew, spokesman for the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation
Movement (SPLM), which now runs the government of semi-autonomous south
Sudan, said: "The date is okay. The SPLM abides by the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement and respects the decision of the commission."
Another political leader added there was widespread acceptance of the dates.
"There is a general consensus about these dates. No party is opposed to them
up to now," said Mohammed Ibrahim Nugud, head of the opposition Sudanese
Communist Party.
National elections for Sudan had originally been scheduled for July, ahead
of a referendum on southern independence expected by 2011 in line with the
north-south peace accord.
"The elections are a major milestone in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement,
and for the whole of Sudan," said Derek Plumbly, chairman of the Assessment
and Evaluation Commission that monitors the north-south peace deal.
"A lot of things still need to happen ... Legislation has to be passed to
create the right environment for the elections, and a lot of practical work
still needs to be done," he added.
According to an elections timetable seen by Reuters, polling is due to run
from Feb. 6-21 and announcement of final results should be made on Feb. 27.
But the dates could be adjusted slightly depending on long-delayed results
of a census.
Preparations for the vote were already delayed, with issues such as the
position of the north-south border unresolved.
A U.N. panel of experts suggested last year that Sudan delay elections by at
least four months because of expected heavy rains and logistical problems.
Southerners worry that an election during the rainy season could depress
turnout.
Northern and southern armies have clashed on occasion since the 2005 peace
deal, most recently last year in the central oil region town of Abyei,
claimed by both north and south. (Additional reporting by Skye Wheeler in
Juba and Khaled Abdel Aziz in Khartoum; Writing by Cynthia Johnston and
Alastair Sharp in Cairo; Editing by Charles Dick)
C Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----