Sudan Abyei co-chair insists area’s inclusion in 2015 elections

Sudan’s co-chair of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC) Hassan Ali Nemir said elections will take place in the disputed area of Abyei between Sudan and South Sudan.

Sudan’s co-chair of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC) Hassan Ali Nemir said elections will take place in the disputed area of Abyei between Sudan and South Sudan.

In a press statement in Khartoum, Ali said Abyei natives are Sudanese nationals and that they have the constitutional right to participate in Sudan’s 2015 elections.

On 19 October, the head of the West Kordofan high committee for elections Abdul-Jabar Ibrahim said Abyei is not included in national and state constituencies for the upcoming polls.

However, the Abyei co-chair further said the electoral register in Abyei will be updated based on 2010 elections.

“Any Abyei citizen regardless of his political affiliation has a legitimate right to participate in general elections and choose their representatives in the legislature at all levels,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ngok Dinka paramount chief Bulabek Deng Kuol welcomed the first announcement made by the West Kordofan official on the exclusion of Abyei from the Sudanese elections.

“We appreciate it very much if the Sudanese government eventually accepted the reality on the ground,” he said.