- The Sudanese election commission has postponed both the presidential and the parliamentary elections to 2010 saying the latest census data has not been processed. The elections were planned for June 2009.
The elections which will be the first in more than two decades will be held eight months later than originally agreed in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended the 21-year civil war between the north and the south of the country.
The deputy chairman of the commission, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, said the electoral process would begin next month and finish in February next year. Mr Abdullah said there would be six elections to be held covering the national presidential and parliamentary, the south Sudanese presidency, state governors, the southern parliament and state assemblies.
Local news reports have said the former rebels from the south, are expected to field a candidate against President Omar al-Bashir.
The peace deal gave the south a semi-autonomous government and provided for a referendum on independence for the south by 2011.
Prior to the election commission’s decision, skeptics had doubted whether the slated votes could in fact be held on time, with the results of a census, which would allow the creation of accurate voting lists, having not yet been published.
They also doubted the credibility of the polls in war torn Darfur region with millions displaced by the conflict.
The Darfur region has been wrecked by incessant conflict since 2003 when Dafuris took up arms against the Arab dominated government accusing them of neglecting the region. The conflict has killed more than 300, 000 people and displaced 2.7 million according to the UN.
The Darfur crisis has gone out of control following the indictment of the Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir on 4 March by the ICC for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. In his retaliation to the warrant of arrest issued in his name, he expelled 13 international humanitarian agencies.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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