Africa News

Sudan's al-Bashir wins controversial presidential poll (2nd Roundup)

Apr 26, 2010, 16:48 GMT

A file picture dated 22 April 2010 shows Sudanese President Omar el Bashir. EPA/PHILIP DHIL

Nairobi/Khartoum - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, wanted over allegations of war crimes in Darfur, has won the country's first multiparty elections in 24 years, the National Elections Commission (NEC) said Monday.

The polls were supposed to usher in a new era of democracy in Sudan, which is recovering from a decades-long civil war between the north and south and is still plagued by unrest in the restive Darfur province.

However, they were marred by an opposition boycott, allegations of fraud and logistical problems that delayed the result by almost a week.

Al-Bashir won with 68 per cent of the ballot - 6.9 million votes - the NEC said in a statement on its website.

Former southern rebel Salva Kiir was confirmed in his position as leader of the autonomous Southern Sudan in a separate ballot, with 92.99 per cent of the vote, the NEC said.

Al-Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP) is expected to interpret the victory as a vindication of the leader, who is the only sitting president wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC accuses him of war crimes in the Darfur conflict, which began in 2003 when mainly non-Arab tribesmen took up arms against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum.

The United Nations estimates that the Darfur conflict resulted in the deaths of 300,000 people and displaced 2.7 million.

The president is hugely popular among northern Muslims, who have benefited from the economic growth he has ushered in since seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1989.

However, the damaged credibility of the poll could weaken al-Bashir's stance over Darfur.

Al-Bashir's two main opponents boycotted the polls, citing vote-rigging fears and concerns over insecurity in Darfur. Observers from the European Union and US-based Carter Centre said the elections were not up to international standards.

Results were due on Tuesday, but were delayed by logistical problems in Africa's biggest country, raising further fears the election was being fixed.

The NEC rejected all claims of irregularities.

Analysts say al-Bashir's relatively small winning margin may allow him to claim the legitimacy he craves.

'It wasn't as big a result as he might have hoped for,' John Ashworth, Sudan analyst and regional representative for peace-building organization IKV Pax Christi in the Horn of Africa, told the German Press Agency dpa. 'It might be a way he can claim the elections were free and fair.'

The names of the two candidates who pulled out - Sadiq al-Mahdi of the Umma party and Yasir Arman of Southern Sudan's main party the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) - remained on the ballot, affecting the size of al-Bashir's victory.

Southerners voted in numbers for Arman despite his withdrawal. He attracted just over 21 per cent of the vote, the NEC said.

New-York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) reacted to the result by saying al-Bashir should still face trial in The Hague. It also accused the NCP of widespread oppression and human rights' violations.

'Our concerns with these elections go beyond technical irregularities,' Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at HRW, said in a statement. 'Political oppression and human rights violations undermined the freedom and fairness of the vote all over Sudan.'

The poll was largely peaceful, but there were clashes over grazing rights between the southern Army and Arab tribesmen from Darfur in the days leading up to the results. Over 50 people were killed and around 80 injured in the clashes.

Analysts say the election aftermath could impact on a January 2011 referendum on independence for Southern Sudan, which was agreed upon in the 2005 peace deal that ended the war between the mainly Muslim north and Christian and Animist South.

Al-Bashir, who has previously said he would abide by the result of the referendum, threatened to cancel the referendum due to the SPLM boycotts.

The SPLM warned that this could lead to violence.

'It (the referendum) is not a gift from al-Bashir,' SPLM Secretary General Pagan Amum told dpa. 'If he delays the referendum, he will be confronted by the people of Southern Sudan.'

Analysts feel al-Bashir is unlikely to make good on the threat, but there are concerns that trouble could break out along the north-south border in the likely event that Southern Sudan votes for independence.