Sudanese Political Party representative at International IDEA training workshop in Khartoum, Sudan, April 2008.
Photo ©: Victor Shale/EISA
As Sudan slowly moves forward in its preparations for the elections scheduled for 2009, as part of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, International IDEA continues to work with building the capacity of political parties. In April 2008, the Sudanese census began amidst a sea of controversy. The census is a prerequisite for the country's first democratic elections in 2009, as it will be used to determine the electoral boundaries as well as to map the cultural identity of the country.
The census has been delayed at least three times, and months of debate on whether to include questions on ethnicity and religion or how millions of war-displaced Sudanese will be counted, ended without agreement. The danger remains that anyone disagreeing with the results will simply deny them, causing further room for dispute and giving reasons for those who might not be bound by the outcome.
Meanwhile the process of establishing the electoral law is also moving slowly, causing fears that the 2009 elections may be delayed.
Despite these obstacles, International IDEA and its partners are continuing to work with the major political parties to build their capacity and preparedness for the elections. The latest activity was a training session on the topic of “Election Campaigning” undertaken in April 2008 in collaboration with project partner EISA. The workshop was attended by 35 participants from six political parties: The Umma Party, Democratic Unionist Party, National Congress Party, Communist Party, Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement and People’s Congress Party. It covered a variety of themes including democratic transitions, elections and democracy, electoral systems and representation, the electoral cycle, and post-election politics and reconciliation.
For more information about IDEA’s Sudan project click here: http://www.idea.int/africa/sudan/index.cfm
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