Sudanese vote in presidential, legislative polls

Voters in Sudan started casting their votes on Monday to elect a president and members of the national and state parliaments amid boycott by most of the opposition parties.

No fewer than 13.6 million registered voters in the country would cast their ballots at 7,000 polling stations.

The polling process will last till Wednesday while counting of votes will begin on Thursday.

The final results of the elections are scheduled to be announced on April 27.

There are
​45 political parties in the race, while 16 candidates, including incumbent President Omar al-Bashir, are running for the post of president.

A total of 1,072 candidates are running for seats at the national parliament and 2,235 others for the state legislative seats.

Regional organisations such as the African Union, the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development in Africa and the Arab League are monitoring the elections.

On Friday, EU Foreign Policy Chief, Federica Mogherini, in a statement said the EU announced that it would not take part in monitoring Sudan’s general elections.

“The failure to initiate a genuine national dialogue one year after it was announced by the government of Sudan is a setback; a real setback for the welfare of the people of Sudan.

“When dialogue is bypassed, some groups are excluded and civil and political rights are infringed.

“The upcoming elections cannot produce a credible result with legitimacy throughout the country,” Mr. Mogherini said.

(Xinhua/NAN)