Sudanese independent and opposition papers on Sunday slammed the country's elections as a sham, urging the world not recognise the result of the vote they say will only preserve the status quo.
"These elections were fake and can only produce fake results," columnist Faisal Abdelrahman wrote in the daily Rai al-Shaab, which is considered close to Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi, once President Omar al-Beshir's mentor who has since become one of his fiercest critics. The landmark elections that were meant to usher in democratic transformation will do little more than what was already achieved in a 2005 peace deal that ended a decades-long war between north and south Sudan, Abdelrahman said.
The results "will preserve the infrastructure of the (peace) agreement," maintaining the ruling National Congress Party's grip on north Sudan, and keeping the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in control of the south, he said. Around 16 million registered voters went to the polls from April 11 to 15 to choose their president as well as legislative and local representatives in the country's first multi-party elections in 24 years. Southerners also voted for the head of their semi-autonomous government. But foreign observers on Saturday said the elections failed to meet international standards, citing logistical problems and cases of intimidation and harassment, and opposition parties said they would reject the results.
"The conclusions reached by the international observers are not a surprise, because corruption and fraud which took place (even before polling), were obvious," wrote Kamal al-Sadiq in the Ajras al-Hurriya, considered close to the SPLM.
Comments
Comments are closed.