Sudan's elections were not fair and fell short of meeting internationals standards, the US State Department said Monday after days of elections in the country that are likely to return incumbent President Omar al-Bashir to office, dpa reported.
The United States had voiced concerns about the legitimacy of the elections ahead of the opening of polls last week, but State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said despite the flaws they are a step forward for Sudan as it heads into a critical time.
"We've had long-standing concerns about the environment leading up to the election," Crowley said. "This was not a free and fair election. It did not, broadly speaking, meet international standards."
The elections did produce winners that will play a key role in the country ahead of a referendum scheduled for January on whether the South should become independent, as called for in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Following through on the outcome of that referendum will be a major challenge, especially if the South succeeds in independence and governing insitutions need to be built, which Crowley said is a "very possible, if not likely, outcome" of the vote.
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