UN Mission in Sudan Denies Printing Ballots for Elections

The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) on Sunday denied accusations over its involvement in granting contracts for printing some of Sudan's elections ballots inside the country.

"UNMIS regrets news reports attributed to Umma Reform and Renewal Party (URRP) suggesting that the Mission's Chief Electoral Affairs Officer has been involved in the process of granting contracts for the printing of some elections ballots in Sudan," the UNMIS said in a statement.

"UNMIS spokesperson categorically dismisses such an allegation as unfounded," the statement said.

The UN mission said that the decision to print the ballots in Sudan for executive offices, which include presidential and governors' elections, was taken by Sudan's National Elections Commission on its own initiative and subsequently communicated with the UN Development Program and UNMIS.

The UNMIS Chief Electoral Affairs Officer subsequently recommended to NEC that arrangements should be put in place to ensure that non-partisan observers and party agents had the opportunity to observe and ensure the integrity of this printing process inside Sudan, according to the statement.

"UNMIS Spokesperson would like to reiterate that the role of the Mission and its Electoral Assistance Division is restricted to providing technical assistance and limited logistical support within its capabilities when requested to do so," said the statement.

"This does not involve making substantive decisions about any aspect of the electoral process. Such decisions are left in their entirety to the NEC and other stakeholders in Sudan as an internal Sudanese matter," it added.

Sudanese political parties demand that the elections ballots should be printed outside Sudan, arguing that printing them outside the country would avoid forgery.

The URRP, led by Mubarak al-Fadil al-Mahdi, on Saturday accused UNMIS of granting contracts to the NEC to print some of the elections ballots inside the country.

Multi-party elections, the first of its kind since 1986, are scheduled to be held in Sudan in April.

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