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Parties report widespread poll fraud in Sudan

The reports came along with evidence of a growing rift between the two main parties in the country's coalition government, who fought each other in a two-decade civil war that ended in a faltering 2005 peace deal.

In the running
  • President Al Bashir registers his name at the 36th District department for the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections which will take place in April.
  • Image Credit: EPA

Khartoum: Sudan's political parties accused each other of widespread fraud and intimidation as voters began to register for the state's first multi-party elections in 24 years due in April 2010.

The reports came along with evidence of a growing rift between the two main parties in the country's coalition government, who fought each other in a two-decade civil war that ended in a faltering 2005 peace deal.

Opposition political party monitors said they had evidence of intimidation, buying of votes and other irregularities by Sudan's dominant National Congress Party (NCP), headed by President Omar Hassan Al Bashir.

The NCP dismissed the allegations and accused its junior coalition partner, the former southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), of trying to sabotage the election, saying NCP supporters had been tortured in the south.

The SPLM and 20 opposition parties have threatened to boycott the elections if a long overdue package of democratic laws is not passed. Bickering between the NCP and SPLM boiled over at a UN-sponsored meeting last week with witnesses saying relations were at their worst since the 2005 deal shared wealth and power in Africa's largest state.

Has this become more of a blaming game? What will this result in?

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