Sudan’s Al Bashir wins election

EXTENDS PRESIDENCY WITH MORE THAN 94% OF VOTE, ORGANISERS SAY

Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir was reelected yesterday with more than 94 per cent of the vote in polls in which he had faced no serious challenger, organisers said.

“The number of votes obtained by candidate Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir of the National Congress Party was 5,252,478,” National Electoral Commission chief Mukhtar Al Asam told a Khartoum news conference.

The announcement was met with cries of “God is greatest” from some of the audience in the hall where the results were announced.

International criticism

Al Bashir — wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges — had faced just 13 little-known challengers for the presidency, and the mainstream opposition boycotted the vote.

His closest competitor, Fadl Al Sayed Shuiab of the small Federal Truth Party, won “1.43 per cent,” Al Asam said.

After him came Fatima Abdul Mahmoud, of the Sudanese Socialist Democratic Union, who won 47,653 votes, around 0.85 per cent.

Polling stations had been quiet during the vote, despite a nationwide one-day extension, and the African Union’s Election Observer Mission said there had been a “generally low turnout of voters throughout”.

Al Asam said turnout was around 46 per cent across the four days of polling, in which representatives of the national and state parliaments were also chosen.

Al Bashir’s NCP also dominated the elections for the national parliament, taking 323 of the 426 seats, Al Asam added. The controversial vote has already faced international criticism, with the United States, Britain and Norway slamming Sudan last week for its “failure to create a free, fair and conducive elections environment”.