From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Fri Nov 27 2009 - 16:51:48 EST
U.S. says Sudan's 2010 elections in doubt
Fri Nov 27, 2009 5:19pm GMT
* U.S. cites lack of political will to resolve issues
* Statement comes after U.S. envoy's visit to Sudan
* Strains raise fears north-south civil war could restart
WASHINGTON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Sudan may be unable to hold credible
elections in coming months because the ruling party and opposition cannot
agree on ground rules for the polls, the U.S. State Department said on
Friday.
At the end of a trip to Sudan by President Barack Obama's special envoy
Scott Gration, the State Department said it saw little movement on issues
such as voter registration and border delineation between Khartoum and the
semi-autonomous South -- endangering plans for national elections in April
2010 and a referendum on southern succession in 2011.
"Without immediate resolution of these disputes, we are concerned about the
chances for conducting credible elections and referenda," it said in a
statement.
"Unfortunately, the parties have not yet demonstrated the political will
necessary to achieve resolution on these difficult and sensitive issues."
Gration's trip to Sudan was his first since Washington announced in October
it would keep economic sanctions on Sudan but would also offer Khartoum new
incentives to end violence in Darfur and the South.
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), former southern rebels who
are now junior partners in the governing coalition under the terms of a 2005
peace deal, have accused the North of stalling on a democratic
transformation and undermining plans for free elections.
The SPLM and other parties said on Wednesday they would delay a decision on
whether to boycott April's elections in part due to a week-long extension of
the voter registration period.
The strains have raised fears the north-south civil war -- fueled by issues
including religion, ethnicity, oil and ideology between mostly Christian
southern rebels and the Islamist Khartoum government -- could reignite.
Gration visited voter registration centers and urged people to sign up for
the polls "as it is the only way for the Sudanese people to maintain their
right to participate in the national elections in April 2010," the statement
said.
He also visited Darfur, where the United Nations says more than 2 million
people were driven from their homes and some 300,000 people died in a crisis
that saw non-Arab militias take up arms against the central government.
Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000.
Gration's meetings concentrated on the security situation along the
Chad-Sudan border, with the State Department noting lawlessness and banditry
were heightening tensions yet again.
"Addressing these ongoing security concerns is crucial for achieving a
lasting peace in Darfur," the statement said. (Reporting by Andrew Quinn;
editing by David Alexander and John O'Callaghan) ((Washington newsroom +1
202 898 8300))
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