Voters trickled in on the first day of the elections to... (Photo Courtesy UNMIS)

As two international observation missions issued reports that Sudan’s recent elections fell short of international standards and Sudanese observer groups reported widespread electoral rigging and political oppression, leading human rights groups are calling on the Obama Administration to acknowledge that these reports confirm that the presidential election will not reflect the legitimate choice of the Sudanese people.

"Sadly, it remains an open question as to whether President Obama will listen to the Sudanese and international monitors on the ground in Sudan who say this election wasn't free and fair, or whether he will listen to his envoy in Washington who is arguing to whitewash the results for the sake of expediency,” states John Prendergast, co-founder of the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress.  “If the US makes yet another moral compromise in its Sudan policy, it will only embolden Sudan's self-appointed president to escalate the war in Darfur and undermine the upcoming referendum on southern Sudan's independence."

“Reports by the Carter Center and European Union election observation missions make clear the Sudanese election was not conducted under conditions that were free and fair and which reflect the true will of the Sudanese people,” said Mark Lotwis, Acting President of the Save Darfur Coalition. “The Obama administration must lead the world in condemning this election as illegitimate and that Omar al-Bashir is not a legitimately elected leader.”

Both observation missions and many Sudanese election observers noted numerous irregularities and logistical difficulties during the voting period but more importantly, cited an election environment where many political rights ranging from freedom to campaign without intimidation to free speech were restricted by the current regime led by dictator Omar al-Bashir.  Due to a lack of security in Darfur, election monitoring teams were severely limited in deployment, and in the case of the EU withdrawn from the region, further illustrating that a national election cannot be viewed as legitimate when a substantial portion of the nation cannot participate under international standards.

According to the above human rights organizations, the current implementation of the U.S. policy on Sudan has not addressed a number of extremely concerning developments including clear indications that the national election is neither free nor fair, non-implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, ongoing government attacks on civilians, and ongoing obstruction by the Government of Sudan in access for aid workers and UN investigators to Darfur.