Sudan's elections: Half horrid, half hopeful.

[frigidmagi]

Laveud Africa

[quote]Rigged in the north, more or less fair in the south.

IT HAS been a tale of two Sudans. In the north the
election has been marred by rigging, intimidation
and boycotts, with the near-certain result that
President Omar Bashir and his ruling National
Congress Party (NCP) will remain firmly in charge.
But in the south the former rebels of the Sudan
People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), which rules a
vast semi-autonomous region, are sure to win
handsomely—and pretty fairly. The nationwide
voting was extended by two days. Results will not be
declared until around April 20th.

The upshot is that most of the world is likely, with
varying degrees of cynicism, to accept Mr Bashir as
Sudan’s rightful ruler, though he has been indicted
by the International Criminal Court at The Hague for
alleged war crimes in the western region of Darfur.
Just as crucially for Sudan’s future, the SPLM’s
entrenchment in the south will mark a big step on
the region’s road to complete independence,
provided that Mr Bashir co-operates in holding a
referendum promised for early next year.

So the elections will have endorsed the status quo.
But the manner of the two victories was markedly
different. Many northern opposition parties withdrew
before the poll. Fiddling the voters’ register,
boycotts and blatant rigging all boosted Mr Bashir.
Parties backed by the rebels in Darfur, for which
several million refugees would have voted, never
even entered the race. The Umma party, the
strongest northern opposition group, boycotted the
polls.

Even so, the NCP left nothing to chance. Its
campaign was well organised and flush with cash.
Thousands of voters were brought in by buses to
marshalling tents near the polling stations, where
they were helped to find their names on the register
and ushered to the booths. Kitchens run by the NCP
provided food and drink to fortify waverers in
temperatures reaching 40 degrees centigrade. Local
NCP-run authorities, known as “popular
committeesâ€