HRW reports on election violations in Sudan

This morning, Human Rights Watch issued a report detailing election abuses in Sudan leading up to national elections in April. These elections will be geared toward appointing the first democratically elected president in Sudanese history and are being seen as a dress rehearsal for a vote on South Sudanese independence next year.

There are already problems brewing regarding this vote, however, as HRW notes in this report, President Omar al-Bashir's ruling NCP party is resorting to tactics of intimidation and imprisonment to reduce the efficacy of opposition parties and infringe on voter registration in many areas. In addition, peaceful demonstrations by opposition parties have been broken up by police and national security forces using riot gear.

You can read the full report on Human Rights Watch's site, including a point-by-point breakdown of all irregularities HRW officials have recorded in the past few months. GI-NET will be monitoring this situation closely in the weeks leading up to the elections. To read more about Sudan, please visit our Areas of Concern page.