Sudan extends voting time, citing security, logistical reasons

Sudan's National Elections Commission (NEC) on Tuesday decided to extend the voting for an extra hour, noting that security and logistical reasons prevented the voting process at some polling stations.

"The voting process in the presidential and legislative polls, which entered its second day, has not been conducted at some polling stations for security or logistical reasons", said Al-Hadi Mohamed Ahmed, NEC Spokesperson, at a press conference Tuesday.

"In Gezira State, there are 52 polling stations where the voting has not been conducted because the necessary logistical materials have not arrived there. The voting at those stations would be conducted during Wednesday, Thursday and Friday", he noted.

He went on saying that "there are some polling stations in South Kordofan State targeted by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector and others where the voting has not been conducted."

In North Kordofan State, he said the voting was not conducted in five stations on Monday due to shortage in logistical materials, noting that the polling process started at those stations after the electoral materials were delivered.

He also said that the voting process has been halted at three stations in the disputed oil-rich area of Abyei for security reasons.

He explained that the extension of the voting time came in response to requests by many states, noting that the NEC's role is to facilitate the process for the voters.

Regarding the voting for the Sudanese expatriates, the NEC spokesperson said that they would vote in seven countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Belgium and Britain.

He added that the overseas polling would begin on Friday and last for three days, pointing out that polling stations in Libya, Yemen and South Sudan have been closed due to security situations.

In the meantime, the voting process in Sudan's presidential and legislative polls continued for the second day amid varied turnout compared to the first day at a time when the NEC has not yet provided any statistics on rates of participation, attributing that to bad communications.

Like day one, the polling process proceeded smoothly, save for some events in Darfur region and areas in South Kordofan state which is witnessing armed clashes between the Sudanese army and the rebels of the SPLM/northern sector.

To this end, eyewitnesses in El Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur State, said the police forces used tear gas to disperse limited protests organized by some students of El Fasher University against the elections.

In South Kordofan state, the SPLM/northern sector targeted some polling stations in Habilla and Al-Abbassiya localities where the NEC admitted that events took place in the state and that three polling centers were closed due to armed attacks.

Nevertheless, streets in the Sudanese capital Khartoum appeared calm amid expectations that the voting rate would rise later on.

On Monday, the voters in Sudan started casting their votes 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.

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

The elections will run till Wednesday while a vote count is set to begin the next day. The final results of the elections are scheduled to be announced on April 27. Endit