By AFP
In Summary
- Bashir — wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes — had faced just 13 little-known challengers for the presidency, and the mainstream opposition boycotted the vote.
- The controversial vote has already faced international criticism, with the United States, Britain and Norway slamming Sudan last week for its "failure to create a free, fair and conducive elections environment".
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was on Monday re-elected
with 94.5 per cent of the vote in polls he had been widely expected to
win, the National Electoral Commission said.
"The number of votes obtained by candidate Omar Hassan Ahmed
al-Bashir of the National Congress Party was 5,252,478, or 94.5 per
cent" of ballots cast, NEC chief Mokhtar al-Asam said at a news
conference in Khartoum.
The announcement was met by cries of "God is greatest!" by some
members of the audience in the hall where the results were announced.
Bashir — wanted by the International Criminal Court for war
crimes — had faced just 13 little-known challengers for the presidency,
and the mainstream opposition boycotted the vote.
His closest competitor, Fadl el-Sayed Shuiab of the small Federal Truth Party, won "79,665 votes, or 1.43 per cent," Asam said.
Polling stations had been quiet during the vote, despite a
nationwide one-day extension, and the African Union's Election Observer
Mission said there had been a "generally low turnout of voters
throughout".
Asam said turnout was 46.4 per cent across the four days of
polling, in which representatives of the national and state parliaments
were also chosen.
The controversial vote has already faced international
criticism, with the United States, Britain and Norway slamming Sudan
last week for its "failure to create a free, fair and conducive
elections environment".
Bashir seized power in a 1989 Islamist-backed coup, and won
re-election in a 2010 election marred by an opposition boycott and
criticism that the vote did not meet international standards.
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