U.S. and European media

March 31, 2023

Reuters: Sudan's NCP accused of rigging elections in Darfur. An international think tank has accused Sudan's ruling party of trying to rig elections in wartorn Darfur region, as the country prepares for its first multi-party polls in 24 years. The International Crisis Group said voter registers for the April 11-18 polls had been manipulated, constituencies based on a flawed 2008 census and the election commission staffed with too many pro-government officials, in a report released late on Tuesday.

BBC: Sudan - SPLM rigging concern over ballot paper printing. The main party in south Sudan has expressed concern that ballot papers for April's vote are being printed on government printing presses. Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) leader Anne Ito said it gave the ruling northern National Congress Party (NCP) a chance to rig the poll. But she said her party did not want a delay if a free vote could be guaranteed by the election commission.

BBC: Sudan president warns south over election delay. Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has warned that any delay to April elections could affect next January's referendum on secession for the south. His comments come amid rumours that the former southern rebels, the SPLM, will call for a delay of the elections - the first national vote in 24 years. Other northern opposition parties have already called for a delay, saying the polls will not be free and fair.

AP: Sudan Opposition Mulls Boycotting Elections. Sudanese opposition parties are threatening to boycott their country's first multiparty election in a quarter century. Over a dozen northern opposition parties meet Wednesday to consider the boycott after their calls for postponing the April 11 vote were ignored. 

AFP: Chad and UN disagree over size of peacekeeping force. Negotiations have stalled between Chad and a UN team on the future size of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT), a Chadian official said Tuesday. The mission was created in 2007 to take over from a European force, EUFOR, that looked after Chadians  and Central Africans displaced by insurgency in their own countries and refugees from Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, across the eastern border of Chad and the northeastern border of the CAR. The UN and other organisations have expressed reservations at the idea of a possible withdrawal of the military component of MINURCAT fearing for the safety of those displaced.

The following op-ed by Michael Gerson was featured in The Washington Post: In South Sudan, a crucial election may give birth to a nation. Landing by cargo plane on a runway of sun-baked mud, close to the border of southern Darfur, I am greeted by an unexpected sight: a political rally. The president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, will be arriving shortly, campaigning for Paul Malong, the endangered, incumbent governor of the local area. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement -- South Sudan's armed, African rebellion against northern, Arabized rule, now turned ruling political party -- is out in force. Activists in red and white march and chant. Soldiers shoo children with sticks. Local tribal leaders carry spears, symbols of their authority.

The Darfur Daily News is a service of the Save Darfur Coalition. To subscribe to the Daily News, please email [email protected]. For media inquiries, please contact Ashley Roberts at (202) 478-6181, or [email protected].