Khartoum, January 24: Human Rights Watch on Sunday accused the Sudanese authorities of carrying alleged abuses ahead of a general election due in April and called on them to ensure “free and credible” polls.
“Violations of civil and political rights by Sudanese security forces throughout the country are seriously undermining prospects for free, fair, and credible elections in April 2010,” HRW said in a report.
“The Khartoum government is still using its security forces to harass and abuse those who speak out against the ruling National Congress Party,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director for the New York-based rights watchdog.
“That is no environment for holding free, fair, and transparent elections,” she was quoted as saying in the report.
HRW also criticised the authorities in southern Sudan, where it said “soldiers and police arbitrarily arrested, detained, and mistreated members of political parties opposed to the southern ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM)”, a former rebel group.
The presidential and parliamentary election in April is the first polls in Sudan in 24 years.
“With less than three months to elections and with campaigning season starting in February, a robust international observer presence is needed now,” Gagnon said.
The Carter Centre set up by former US president Jimmy Carter is the only group of international monitors allowed so far to monitor the vote in Sudan.
HRW said “international donors and stakeholders should urgently deploy observers in time to effectively monitor pre-elections conditions” and also called on the UN mission in Sudan to “increase its presence and patrolling in volatile areas.”
—Agencies