Sudan summons ambassadors of Britain, Norway, U.S. over elections criticism

Sudan's Foreign Ministry Tuesday summoned the ambassadors of Britain, Norway and the United States along with the European Union envoy in Khartoum following a statement by the three countries criticizing the recent general elections in Sudan.

The Sudanese people last week cast their votes in the presidential and legislative polls to elect a president and members for national and state parliaments, with election results set to be announced on April 27.

Regional organizations, such as the African Union, the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development in Africa (IGAD) and the Arab League, monitored the Sudanese elections along with several countries including China, Russia and Turkey.

Sudan's Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Abdalla Hamad Al-Azraq conveyed the ministry's condemnation of the three countries' statement as "erroneous information and prejudgment of the elections in Sudan."

The ministry condemned in a statement "in the strongest terms" the remarks of Troika (Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States), deeming it as "flagrant intervention in Sudan's internal affairs."

"The elections are an outright Sudanese affair where only the Sudanese population get to decide on, and no other party has the right to intervene nor express an opinion regarding it," the statement said.

The proclamation noted that a considerable number of political parties participated widely in the electoral campaign and most opposition parties that boycotted the elections have not objected to its implementation.

On Monday, the Troika said in a statement that the general elections in Sudan were not free and fair and regretted the government of Sudan's failure to create a conducive elections environment.

"Restrictions on political rights and freedoms, counter to the rights enshrined in the Sudanese constitution, the lack of a credible national dialogue and the continuation of armed conflict in Sudan's peripheries are among the reasons for the reported low participation and very low voter turnout," it added.

"The Troika's description deliberately ignored attempts by rebel movements to destabilize security during the electoral process through direct bombardment of Kadogli aiming to prevent citizens from casting their votes and crippling elections in South Kordofan State," the Foreign Ministry statement said.

It further reiterated Sudan's determination to continue its efforts targeting a successful Sudanese national dialogue initiative following the announcement of election results and the formation of a new government.

According to Sudanese local media, primary election results indicate a strong lead for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and for his ruling National Congress Party. Endit