ICC suspect lags behind SPLM candidate in South Kordofan elections: Al-Jazeera
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May 6, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – Early results from the gubernatorial race in
South Kordofan revealed a comfortable lead for the Sudan People
Liberation Movement (SPLM) candidate Abdel-Aziz Al-Hilu, news channel
Al-Jazeera reported.
JPEG - 32.6 kb
South Kordofan’s governor candidate, Abdel-Aziz Al-Hilu (L) and
National Congress Party candidate for governor, Ahmed Haroun (R) -
Reuters
Al-Hilu is running against the incumbent governor Ahmed Haroun who is
the National Congress Party (NCP) nominee and also one of the suspects
wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his alleged role
in Darfur war crimes when he was Sudan’s minister for interior.
Al-Jazeera said the figures it obtained showed that the SPLM’s
candidate is ahead by 14,000 votes after counting all but results from
six polling stations. It did not say whether the remaining centers
would be a game changer.
Elections in the state were delayed from April last year after the
SPLM accused Khartoum of rigging the census and ordered its supporters
not to register for voting because of that.
Southern Kordofan, the site of oilfields and an important civil war
battlegrounds on the undefined north-south border, is key to Khartoum
because it neighbors Darfur and the disputed oil-producing Abyei
border region, another possible flashpoint between both sides in the
build-up to the South’s secession that will become official next July.
The NCP has thrown its weight behind Haroun and the state saw recent
visits by president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir and his VP Ali Osman Taha in
a show of support for their candidate.
Sudan’s official news agency (SUNA) quoted an official in the National
Elections Committee (NEC) as saying that preliminary results will be
announced on Sunday and transmitted to headquarters for certification
in mid-May.
Results can be challenged during the appeal period that starts from
May 15 until June 3.
The authorities in South Kordofan has urged the residents to accept
the results irrespective of the winner and announced a series of
precautionary measures including a ban on using weapons and staging
rallies during the count and up to the day of announcing results.
There are strong fears of post-results clashes between NCP and SPLM
supporters despite a peaceful vote in the state.
"If they (the polls) fail, Southern Kordofan’s elections may yield
localised violence...and destabilise the state," political analyst Aly
Verjee told Reuters.
Sudanese political analyst Eltaieb Zain Elabdeen had projected that
Haroun would win the vote leading to violent reaction.
"The SPLM won’t accept the result so they could mobilise their
militia. I think there could be some clashes," he said.
(ST)
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