The chairman of Sudan’s Independent Electoral Commission has defended the conduct of the country’s April 13 elections, saying the only way to have peace in Sudan is to have a constitutionally-elected government. Mukhtar al-Assam said those who criticized the election want Sudan to be in chaos like South Sudan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Iraq. The commission announced Monday that President Omar al-Bashir had been re-elected to another five-year term after winning more than 94 percent of the vote. Most of the major opposition parties boycotted the election. Assam said the turnout of 46 percent was better than last month’s general election in Nigeria, which was 42 percent.
“The final results of the elections showed that 46.4 percent of the total voter turnout voted in this election. Out of the 13 million, about six million voted in this election. President Bashir got 5,242,000 votes. Out of the number of total votes, [that] is the percentage of 94.04 percent,” he said.
Many of the major opposition parties, which boycotted the vote, described the results as a joke.
The European Union, United States, Britain and Norway all criticized the election saying the lack of a promised national dialogue left Sudan without an inclusive political process.
Full Article: Sudan’s Election Chief Defends April Poll Results.
