Darfur to be excluded from elections?

KHARTOUM (19 Aug) – Darfur should not be included in the upcoming elections next year. That says Mohamed Ahmed Salim, the former Registrar of Political organizations. He presented a paper during a workshop organized by the Defence and Intelligence Commission of the National Assembly. In closed session he said that achieving peace in Darfur needs more time even if the government reached a peace agreement with the armed movements. Salim further said that insurgents could threaten the election process. Meanwhile, the Sudan Armed Forces, General Hussein Abdullah Jibril demanded to treat the pastoralists different from the urban population. The pastoralists only meet during market days. The general wants to give them chance to vote on such days. He further said that the way people are dealing with them is not right and full of prejudice. He called on the electoral commission to find a way to include these special groups in the voting system and to involve civil society organizations more in the election process.