(Some of) Sudan Votes
In April of 2015, Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir moved to extend his quarter-century of rule by holding presidential and parliamentary elections even after a broad opposition boycott left no doubt as to the polls' legitimacy. The boycott was coupled with widespread apathy from voters, leading to a historically low turnout and prompting authorities to extend voting by an extra day in the hope of boosting the turnout.
While many voters didn't even know where to vote, if they'd wanted to, those few that made it to polls made clear that Bashir remained their preferred choice even after a tumultuous 25 years in power that have included the imposition of Western sanctions, the genocide in Darfur, the loss of one-third of the country and most of its oil revenues, a resulting economic freefall, and Sudan's general estrangement from the international community. Despite all of these setbacks, voters looked nearby to Libya, Syria and Yemen and decided they simply could not risk changing leaders at this point, lest the country fall into the same chaos.
Hammering home the unusual influence of regional politics on voters' decisions, Bashir announced just before the elections that it would support a Saudi-led military campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Khartoum's unexpected turn against Iran, which in recent years had been a close regional ally, was interpreted as a move to extract aid and investment from the wealthy Gulf states who saw Iran as their primary adversary. As if to emphasize to voters that Bashir was moving to pull Sudan out of its regional isolation and economic tailspin, the Saudi ambassador in Khartoum said during the middle of polling that his country would be making "huge" investments in Sudan's agriculture sector. Sudan and Saudi Arabia denied the support for the Yemen campaign had anything to do with economic assistance.
Months after the elections were over and Bashir declared the winner with over 94 percent of the vote, a Sudanese official said that Saudi Arabia had deposited $1 billion in the Sudanese central bank over the summer.
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir after voting in presidential and parliamentary polls, in Khartoum. He extended his quarter-century of rule with 94 percent of the vote, authorities said.
Abdelaziz al-Hassan, who says he will vote to extend the 25-year rule of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and his ruling National Congress Party in national elections. "I always stand with the strong. The rest of them you haven't even seen their faces or their names before. Why vote for someone new and weak when this government is going to fix relations with Saudi, bring some Gulf money in. Last time we stood against the Saudis when we supported Iraq (in the first Gulf war), nothing came of it. This time in Yemen we know to be on the side of the strong."
A woman walks into a school to vote during Sudan's elections, which saw low turnout amid an opposition boycott and widespread political apathy, driven by a sense among voters that the outcome was a foregone conclusion. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, in power since 1989, won with over 94 percent of the vote.
Farouk Abu Issa, one of two prominent Sudanese opposition leaders freed without explanation days before national elections, at his home with family and supporters in Khartoum, Sudan
Police and elections officials at a school being used as a polling station in Khartoum, Sudan, April 13, 2015.
Voters look for their voting information at a polling station in Khartoum, as two officials with the opposition Democratic Unionist Party, one of a handful of opposition parties taking place in the largely boycotted elections, walk in to monitor the voting. "President Bashir is going to win despite the fact that many people who do not agree with him. He is the only candidate who has an opportunity to win," Sami Abdullah, in white, said.
A tent, provided by the ruling National Congress Party, where voters could eat, drink and rest, outside of a polling station in Khartoum
An Umma Party member breaks down as he recalls a conversation with activist Sandra Farouk Kadouda on April 12, the night she disappeared in what family and friends say was an abduction by state security services. The government denied any role in her disappearance. She was found badly beaten on April 15.
The Saudi ambassador speaks to Sudanese journalists at the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, April, 14, 2015, during national elections where regional politics played a disproportionate role. The popularity of President Omar al-Bashir and his ruling National Congress party was boosted by expectations of Gulf economic aid following Khartoum's pledge of support to the Saudi-led military campaign against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. "There will be new investments in the agriculture sector, and they will be huge investments. We hope Sudan will be ready for this," Ambassador Faisal bin Hamed al-Mualla told journalists on the second day of the April polls. Riyadh and Khartoum both deny any financial support is linked to the Yemen campaign. Sudan's central bank received $1 billion in July and August from Saudi Arabia, Khartoum later said.
A woman casts her ballot while an elections worker helps an old man vote, at a school being used as a polling station in Khartoum, hours before the close of national polls, which authorities extended by a day after low turnout on the initial three days.
Elections workers move boxes full of cast ballots after the close of national polls
Elections workers seal and mark the boxes of ballots after the close of polling in Sudan's presidential and parliamentary elections
(Some of) Sudan Votes
In April of 2015, Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir moved to extend his quarter-century of rule by holding presidential and parliamentary elections even after a broad opposition boycott left no doubt as to the polls' legitimacy. The boycott was coupled with widespread apathy from voters, leading to a historically low turnout and prompting authorities to extend voting by an extra day in the hope of boosting the turnout.
While many voters didn't even know where to vote, if they'd wanted to, those few that made it to polls made clear that Bashir remained their preferred choice even after a tumultuous 25 years in power that have included the imposition of Western sanctions, the genocide in Darfur, the loss of one-third of the country and most of its oil revenues, a resulting economic freefall, and Sudan's general estrangement from the international community. Despite all of these setbacks, voters looked nearby to Libya, Syria and Yemen and decided they simply could not risk changing leaders at this point, lest the country fall into the same chaos.
Hammering home the unusual influence of regional politics on voters' decisions, Bashir announced just before the elections that it would support a Saudi-led military campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Khartoum's unexpected turn against Iran, which in recent years had been a close regional ally, was interpreted as a move to extract aid and investment from the wealthy Gulf states who saw Iran as their primary adversary. As if to emphasize to voters that Bashir was moving to pull Sudan out of its regional isolation and economic tailspin, the Saudi ambassador in Khartoum said during the middle of polling that his country would be making "huge" investments in Sudan's agriculture sector. Sudan and Saudi Arabia denied the support for the Yemen campaign had anything to do with economic assistance.
Months after the elections were over and Bashir declared the winner with over 94 percent of the vote, a Sudanese official said that Saudi Arabia had deposited $1 billion in the Sudanese central bank over the summer.