Sudan goes to the Poll.

More than 13 million people in Sudan are set to vote today in the country’s general elections, which are expected to see the incumbent President Omar al-Bashir hold on to power for another five-year term. Standing in opposition to him are 14, essentially unknown, candidates who pose little threat to the president.

Ali Adel Kheder, 19, told Al Jazeera that he would not be voting because “I only see Bashir on TV and elsewhere. It doesn’t feel like Bashir has any other contesting against him. The state TV and private channels are all pro-Bashir. I don’t know who the {other} candidates are and what their election programmes are.”

Bashir, who has ruled the country for 25 years, is expected to win by a landslide since most of Sudan’s main opposition groups are boycotting the polls. They say that no credible elections can be held until peace is restored across the country and the demands of the opposition are met, including the release of all political prisoners and increased press freedom.

As one student stated: “The best thing is to boycott. We don’t trust the observers, because they are going to be threatened by the government. They will not do anything. The government knows how to fake the election. Change will only come via a revolution, an organised revolution with a leader. There is currently no leader in Sudan.”

Security is a major concern in the country which has seen escalating violence in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan states. Armed groups have threatened to disrupt the election process and the government has deployed 75,000 police personnel across the country to secure voting.

• Pray for the elections in Sudan, that, even with opposition groups boycotting the voting, it will be fair and free.
• Pray for the elections to be peaceful and without disruption.
• Pray for those who desire change, that they will not be discouraged, but  continue to campaign for justice and freedom in their country.
• Pray for a move of the Holy Spirit across this troubled nation, that many will find hope, freedom and life through the Gospel of Jesus.

Psalm 72 vs 11-12: “May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service. For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.”

Source: http://www.aljazeera.com