Too poor to vote in Sudan

Too poor to vote in Sudan

Sudan’s controversial elections are in the penultimate day of voting.

The chaos that characterised voting from the onset has created voter apathy and hence, a low turnout continues to be registered at polling stations.

On the outskirts of Khartoum is the Wad Albashir camp for displaced people from South Sudan and the Darfur region, where the bulk of the city's poor and under-privileged live. Here there is no election fever, or any excitement to vote.

The conflict survivors, sheltering in mud and brick shacks, are feeling just as alienated by the running elections process.  Many feel the elections do not concern them. The poverty and hardship these people face, partly explains the muted response they have given to the elections, which present to many the opportunity to vote for the first time.

Not far from a polling station where a single voter is casting his vote, Kamal Bashir leans on a pole deep in thought. He is adamant he will not vote:

"Before we are asked to vote, the government should do something about our living conditions. Then we will say it is a good government. We are still living on the streets ... I don’t see any reason to vote."

The lofty ideal of a united Sudan and the vague promise of prosperity for all dominated the campaigns. But Sudan’s poorest say the real issues afflicting them such as poor healthcare, lack of education and unemployment have been ignored.

Faced by a number of conflicts and a possible separation between the North and South next January when a referendum on the South’s future will be held, Sudan’s ruling elite have their hands full.

So for now, the problems affecting the poor will undoubtedly remain on the backburner.

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