KHARTOUM: Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir was elected to another five years in office, results showed on Monday, despite international war crimes charges and a vote marred by low turnout and an opposition boycott.

Bashir, 71, took more than 94 per cent of the vote in the election held earlier this month, the electoral commission said, prompting the opposition to reject the result as a “joke”.

National Electoral Commission chief Mokhtar al-Asam announced Bashir’s victory to a Khartoum news conference to cries of “Allahu akbar!” from the long-serving president’s supporters.

Only little-known candidates had run against Bashir and his closest competitor — Fadl el-Sayed Shuiab of the small Federal Truth Party — took just 1.43 per cent of the vote.

Bashir’s ruling National Congress Party also dominated results in simultaneous parliamentary elections, taking 323 of 426 seats.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2015

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