Haroun Wins South Kordofan Elections, Says Pro-Government Website

14 May 2011

Khartoum — The incumbent governor of South Kordofan state Ahmed Haroun will be declared winner in the gubernatorial elections that took place earlier this month, a website linked to the government said today.

Haroun is the candidate of the National Congress Party (NCP) in control of the North and was running against the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) nominee Abdel-Aziz Al-Hilu.

The state is considered crucial for both parties given that it contains oilfields and neighbors the restive region of Darfur as well as the disputed oil-producing Abyei border region, another possible flashpoint between both sides in the build-up to the South’s secession that will become official next July.

The release of preliminary results was delayed several times amid accusations by the SPLM that the NCP is seeking to rig the vote results in favor of its candidate. The southern-based party decided on Friday that it will withdraw from the elections process and will not recognize its outcome including for the parliamentary race.

The National Elections Committee (NEC) is set to announce the results on Sunday but that will still be open to appeal until early next month.

But the Sudanese Media Center (SMC) website that is widely believed to be run by the country’s intelligence bureau reported today that Haroun won with a margin of 6,445 votes. The NCP candidate got 201,000 votes while his contender got 194,000 votes according to the report which quoted independent sources.

There are mounting fears that violence could erupt between NCP and SPLM supporters in the wake of the results.

The NCP as well as federal and local authorities in South Kordofan have warned that they will not allow any disturbances to take place after announcing the results.

Haroun, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes he allegedly committed in Darfur, accused the SPLM Secretary General in North Sudan Yasir Arman of inciting the row in the state.

In remarks carried by Sudan state media, Haroun said that the SPLM campaign in the state was run by the communist party and the SPLM Northern sector.

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