Troika say Sudan election does not reflect ‘will of the people’

The United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway (the members of the ‘Sudan Troika') announced in a press release yesterday that they do not consider the Sudanese election held last week to express the will of the people.

The three Western governments “regret the Government of Sudan’s failure to create a free, fair, and conducive elections environment,” reads a joint press release. They also “condemn the acts of violence during the election period”.

Diplomats of the three countries cited restrictions on political rights and freedoms and “the lack of a credible national dialogue and the continuation of armed conflict in Sudan’s peripheries” as reasons for low participation and “very low voter turnout”.

“The outcome of these elections cannot be considered a credible expression of the will of the Sudanese people,” the Troika governments stated.

They also called for a peaceful 'political process of dialogue' to end conflict and condemned acts of violence during the election period. 

In a press statement last Friday, the African Union (AU) Election Observation Mission acknowledged a lack of space to ‘serious opponents’ of Sudan’s ruling party in the presidential and parliamentary election. The monitors did not qualify the election as ‘free and fair’. After the last election in 2010, however, they congratulated Sudan for the ‘multi-party election’. They did conclude that the election’s results will “reflect the expression of the will of the voters of Sudan”.