Sudanese voters begin casting votes in presidential, legislative polls

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

About 13.6 million registered voters around the country will cast their ballots at 7,000 polling stations.

The polling process is to last till Wednesday while the vote counting is set to begin the next day. The final results of the elections are scheduled to be announced on April 27.

Forty-five political parties, most of them small ones, are taking part in the electoral race at its three levels, 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 the seats of the national parliament and 2,235 others for the state legislative seats.

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

On Friday, the European Union (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 for the welfare of the people of Sudan," EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement.

"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," the statement added. Endit