afrol News, 3 April - The Sudanese election commission has postponed both the presidential and the parliamentary elections to 2010 saying the latest census data has not been processed. The elections were planned for June 2009.

The elections which will be the first in more than two decades will be held eight months later than originally agreed in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended the 21-year civil war between the north and the south of the country.

The deputy chairman of the commission, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, said the electoral process would begin next month and finish in February next year. Mr Abdullah said there would be six elections to be held covering the national presidential and parliamentary, the south Sudanese presidency, state governors, the southern parliament and state assemblies.

Local news reports have said the former rebels from the south, are expected to field a candidate against President Omar al-Bashir.

The peace deal gave the south a semi-autonomous government and provided for a referendum on independence for the south by 2011.

Prior to the election commission’s decision, skeptics had doubted whether the slated votes could in fact be held on time, with the results of a census, which would allow the creation of accurate voting lists, having not yet been published.

They also doubted the credibility of the polls in war torn Darfur region with millions displaced by the conflict.

The Darfur region has been wrecked by incessant conflict since 2003 when Dafuris took up arms against the Arab dominated government accusing them of neglecting the region. The conflict has killed more than 300, 000 people and displaced 2.7 million according to the UN.

The Darfur crisis has gone out of control following the indictment of the Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir on 4 March by the ICC for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. In his retaliation to the warrant of arrest issued in his name, he expelled 13 international humanitarian agencies.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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