Sudan’s elections bring challenges into focus

Posted: 2010-05-31

The April 2010 elections in Africa’s largest country, Sudan, offered us a snapshot of some of the challenges currently facing electoral processes throughout the world and particularly in countries with a heavy legacy of conflict and political polarization.

The first national elections in the country in 24 years, they were closely watched by the international community, not least due to their role in the Sudanese peace process and the prospective 2011 referendum on the fate of Southern Sudan.

With an estimated 10 million out of 16 million voters participating, the poll was marked by allegations of fraud, calls for a voter boycott and general confusion. The incumbent National Congress Party (NCP) was accused of buying political support and manipulation. As a result, nearly all the opposition parties boycotted the poll. General Omar al-Bashir polled 68% as President of Sudan while, Salva Kiir gained more than 90% as President of Southern Sudan. Neither legislature will have an effective opposition with the NCP taking the bulk of seats in the north and the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) the vast majority of seats in the south.

National, regional and international observers documented and recognized confusion at polling centres, as well as many electoral irregularities. At the same time, observers fell short of condemning the outcome of the elections outright and, in the context of the sensitive political situation in Sudan, they were seen as a step forward.

Concerns had been raised before the elections in relation to many issues, not least the use by the NCP, as the incumbent, of state patronage to finance wide networks of support to manipulate and influence the elections. There were also questions about the capacity of the National Elections Commission to manage complex, multi-layered elections in a vast country like Sudan, which suffers from low levels of development in many areas, as well as active conflict in areas such as Darfur.

A key question of relevance to International IDEA in Sudan has been the state of its political parties, which had become severely debilitated after decades of suppression. International IDEA first became engaged with Sudan on this issue in 2006 and since then we have worked to build the capacity of 24 political parties, equipping them with the capacity to function in a democracy, to be effective actors of democratization and good governance, trusted by voters, representative and responsive to public needs. In 2010 International IDEA, through our gender programme, has also worked with more than 200 female candidates in Sudan in order to improve capacity in areas such as managing election campaigns.

The recent elections revealed that political parties could form the basis of the ongoing political process in Sudan. However, their weaknesses were also clearly in evidence and the opposition parties appeared feeble and fragmented in the face of a strong and hostile incumbent. Many parties also suffer from internal party conflict, lack finance and proper organization and are unable to form alliances with other parties.

In addition to the need to strengthen political parties, the elections in Sudan also demonstrated the need for a credible and impartial mechanism to deal with disputed electoral results. Furthermore, the National Elections Commission needs urgent assistance to assess the logistical and technical confusion that marred the elections, as well as to strengthen its capacity for electoral management in future polls.

It remains to be seen what impact the results of these flawed elections will have on democracy in Sudan. It is important to understand, however, that maintaining the integrity of the electoral process is fundamental to building the sustainable democracy which can deliver peace, stability and economic and social progress for countries such as Sudan. The protection of the electoral process as the core of sustainable democracy is the responsibility of all actors, national and international stakeholders alike.