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BY PAUL NDIHO
APRIL 11, 2010

Although Washington DC has a significant number Sudanese people very few
were registered to vote in this landmark election, a handful voted at the Sudanese Consulate in Washington dc. A small number of Voters from the Washington area came early to cast their ballots in this historic election. The three-day election is a key indicator of whether Sudan can fend off renewed conflict and humanitarian crisis as it heads toward a 2011 referendum that could split apart this oil-producing nation and bring independence for south Sudan. The Sudanese Ambassador to the United States said this was a significant milestone in the history of Sudan.

“This election is confirming one of the mandates of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement or the (CPA) that is to hold elections as a fulfillment of the CPA and to prepare for the referendum.”
Mayom Ball Achuku said that this election is a new hope for Sudan.
“This election means chances of freedom are coming to Sudan. I was the first person to vote and I think that I’m doing it not only for
generations that were not able to vote and for myself. It also means that the suffering of the people in Southern Sudan will come to an end. That’s the main reason I voted.”
In Sudan, thousands of police were deployed to make sure things go
smoothly for the first multi-party poll in 24 years.
Greeted by supporters shouting “Allah hu-Akbar” President Omar al-Bashir arrived at a polling station in Khartoum to cast his ballot.
Analysts say he is expected to win but this comes as leading opposition figures accuse him of manipulating the vote. However former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, leading a team of observers, says his foundation hasn’t spotted any major irregularities.
“We have 30 teams out from the Carter Center in all the states and so far they have determined that everything is find and orderly – no problems with violence or intimidation and almost all of our teams have reported that all materials have been on site at the polling stations which they visited in preliminary state.”

Voters in the south were also excited to be voting for the first time since the deadly north – south civil war. Meanwhile in the south of the country, Southern Sudan president Salva Kiir said he was hopeful for the future.

“Well I have never voted in my life, this is my first time to vote and it is a good beginning that Sudan’s going back to democracy and I hope it will be the foundation for future democracy in our country so that power is transferred from person to person by peaceful means instead of military coup.

Elsewhere, Opposition groups and activists complained of vote-rigging, fuelling doubts about the credibility of the election.
There were reports of delays, ballot paper mix-ups and names missing from voters’ lists in some areas of the country.

BY PAUL NDIHO

APRIL 6, 2010

Less than a week before Sudan’s first multi-party elections, opposition parties are threatening to boycott the poll, which they say is rigged in favor of the incumbent president, Omar Hassan Al-Bashir
Sudan’s first general elections in more than 24 years are drawing mixed reactions from the Sudanese people and international observers. Some are saying it is essential for the poll to succeed, while others agree with the decision of opposition parties not to participate.
“The elections should be delayed, many voters don’t know the programs for the candidates, many parties didn’t give their opinions because there is no freedom in the country, no freedom and not enough time, and the government puts many obstacles in front of the parties”
But many on the streets in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, say that the elections should take place on time, and all concerned Sudanese should go and cast their votes.
“The peace in Sudan is related to these elections, and these elections give the Sudanese citizen his freedom to say his opinion, we are against the boycott and it should be on time.”
Howard University professor, Suleiman Nyang, says that the political situation in Sudan is complicated. “Sudan situation is problematic. Bashir and Northern Sudan would like to maintain Sudan as one unity. However, opposition to the Northern hegemony is still very strong in the South.”
Apart from the Umma party leader, the main opposition presidential withdrew last week, saying the vote was “rigged” for the incumbent, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. But Sudan’s women are well represented in the coming election, as some 500 female candidates will be on the ballot for various seats. An elections commission spokesman says women are slowly entering politics in Sudan:
“In Sudan, we need to go gradually, because we have to make sure women participate. Maybe if the women proved that they can actually take part in the political life in Sudan so actively and so well – in the next elections maybe it will be normal that they can share in the different constituencies just like men.”
Over the weekend, Sudan’s elections commission announced that the first multi-party polls would go ahead on time, despite opposition demands for a four week delay. The U.S Special envoy Scott Gration says Sudan’s polls will be open and fair.
“It gives me confidence that the elections will start on time, and that they will be as free and as fair as possible, these people have gone to great links to ensure that the people of Sudan will have access to polling places and the procedures and process will ensure transparency and people vote will get registered and counted in best way possible.”
Gration says that while the vote in Sudan will proceed, a comprehensive and lasting peace there requires the participation of all of the country’s political factions.

By Paul Ndiho
April 1, 2010

George Haley is the brother of Alex Haley, the famous author of the much acclaimed novel, Roots. George Haley has made his own connection to West Africa as the U.S. ambassador to the Gambia, appointed by President Clinton to the post in 1998. George Haley overcame racism in post-segregation period in America to accomplish much as a young lawyer and public servant. VOA’S Paul Ndiho sat down recently for a one-on-one interview with Ambassador Haley, who says he still has an appreciation of the power of the individual.

“I can. I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” Now, like I said, it is subtle, but very profound because none of us is like any other individual. Every individual is unique, and he or she has some responsibilities if he or she takes them along.”
Ambassador George Haley was born in 1925. The second of three boys, he lost his mother when he was six years old. Though times were hard, his father kept the family together in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where he was teaching at the institution that eventually became the University of Arkansas. In 1998, President Clinton nominated him as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Gambia. Haley had visited the West African country numerous times, and Gambia was the setting for his brother’s novel, Roots.
“Perhaps the most important experience was my arriving as the Ambassador from the United States. When my wife and I arrived, there was just a great celebration of our coming. People were saying that “you’ve come home,” you know, I mean, they were, out with vibrations, not only from Jufree, but other parts of the Gambia when the plane set down, and we could hardly move. I mean, they were lifting us up, and there was just warmth.”
Gambia called to him across the span of two centuries, keeping alive the name of his ancestor Kunta Kinte, the great-great-great-great-grandfather who had been snatched from Africa and forced into the slavery from which he never escaped.
“It was a very emotional to think that Kunta Kinte really grew up and didn’t really have time to grow up there, he was a teenager when he was captured pretty much. But this was his village, and to think in terms of the village that my seventh generation ago relative was born in and, how he had come about, it was and continues to be a really emotional kind of thing.”
In 1976, George Haley’s brother Alex published his novel called Roots. It is the saga of an American family, starting with Kunta Kinte, kidnapped in 1767 and taken to Maryland to be sold as a slave. In 1992, Haley’s beloved brother and famed author Alex Haley died suddenly of a heart attack. George Haley says it a genealogical search by Alex led to the writing of Roots.
“He said, that he went into the archives, sometime after completing Malcolm X, and he saw these people pouring over the books that their ancestors had, and he said, “I think I’ll do that,” after having learned through grandma and others a little bit. He got down to grandma’s parents and others and he looked and he saw all of the people: his aunts, and uncles, but grandma’s name was not on there, and he couldn’t figure it out.”
Despite his family’s bleak story of slavery, 84-year-old George Haley says it feels good to have played a role in certain parts of history. He notes the struggles of other African America leaders and pays special tribute Benjamin Elijah Mays, President of Morehouse College in Atlanta, and his former schoolmate and civil right icon Martin Luther King.
“My mission is to try to make the world a better place than which I found it, to make some improvements in it. To have you and others say, well look, here’s an old guy who tried to help. Church Hill once said, “What is the use of living, unless it is to make the world better for those who come after you?” I like that, and I would like to feel that the world is a little better for my having lived.

By Paul Ndiho
Now in its 51st year, the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world’s largest moot court competition, with participants from over 500 law schools in more than 80 countries. The competition is a simulation of a dispute between countries before the U.N.’s International Court of Justice. Teams from eligible schools prepare oral and written pleadings arguing both the applicant and respondent positions of the case. VOA Producer Paul Ndiho caught up with law students from six African countries, including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia,Ghana and Nigeria and asked them what they hoped to get out of this competition and here is more.

By Paul Ndiho
March 23, 2010
Sudan’s National Elections Commission is carrying out voter education to reach various groups of would-be voters in both urban and rural areas ahead of April elections, which observers say may have to be postponed due to logistical delays.
Sudan is preparing for some of the most complex elections with 8 ballots expected to be cast in the north and 12 in the south by each voter. Some 16 million party supporters and voters countrywide will need to aware of the various polling stages ahead of the Sudan’s first multi-party election in 24 years.
The National Elections Commission, the N-E-C, made voter education one of its priorities and hopes to reach various groups of would-be voters in all areas.
In Khartoum State, workshops, mock polling simulation and mock ballot papers are being used to aid voter education.
“The work has not been easy. As we know, nearly 16 million people have registered but all of them are not in the same level of awareness and education in order for the elections to be successful. Because this is a democratic transformation process, we need all Sudanese to participate without any confusion, especially those who have registered.”
But observers say that the polls, already been delayed several, could be postponed again due to logistical difficulties.
The non-governmental Carter Centre, says that elections remain “at risk on multiple fronts,” and urges Sudan to lift harsh restrictions on rallies and end fighting in Darfur ahead of the ballot.
Voting is due to start in Africa’s largest country on April 11 in elections promised under a 2005 North/ South peace deal. Reena Hassan Mustafa, participated in the voter training exercises, and is ready to train others as well.
“We have come to be trained so that we can go and train others as well. We will tell them about elections and how to cast their votes.”
Close to two million people have registered to vote in Khatoum state and other constituencies.
Opposition parties have called for the elections to be postponed. But the two main parties in Sudan’s ruling coalition have resisted the call. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the main party in south Sudan, says any substantial delay could threaten a January 2011 referendum on southern secession.