Election time!

After months of preparing, the Sudanese Red Crescent as well as the rest of the country, is ready for the first multiparty elections in 24 years. The election is part of the comprehensive peace agreement from 2005 that put an end to a 22 year-long civil war.


The ruling party's campaign poster (Port Sudan)

I came back to Sudan about a week ago, and it had been decided that Ingvild and I will stay in Khartoum until the election result has been announced. We have therefore been able to follow the last days of the preparation of the Khartoum Red Crescent branch closely.


At the head quarter, Khartoum

Over the whole of Sudan, there are at least two volunteers deployed at each polling station, they are responsible for the first aid if it is needed. All together around 17 000 volunteers have been mobilized, over 2000 of them in the Sudanese capital alone.

“Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst”, the well-used phrase gives a very accurate description of what is going on at the head quarter. The volunteers have been trained in extreme situations such as “dead body management”, just in case. Sudan is now well in its second out of three election days and no major incidents have been reported, neither by the Crescent nor by the government. Inshallah, it will stay this way during the next few days and also during the election result announcements next week.