commissioners

General Elections Law for the Year 1998
(Law No. 15 for the Year 1998)
In accordance with the constitution of the Republic of Sudan for the year 1998, the National Council has passed and the President of the Republic has signed the law whose text reads as follows:
Chapter One:
Preliminary Provisions:
Title of the Law and its Application
Article One: This law shall be called “General Elections Law for the year 1998”, and shall be put into force upon its certification.
Deletion and Exception
Article Two: The General Elections Law for the year 1995 shall be revoked, however, any regulations or rules issued since shall stay effective unless abrogated or modified according to the articles of this law.
Definitions
Article Three: The following words and expressions, wherever stated in this law, shall have the meanings assigned thereto hereunder unless the context provides otherwise:
The National Circle means the geographic circle that comprises electors eligible to vote for the National Referendum or the President’s election or members of the National Assembly.
The Provincial Circle means the geographic circle that comprises electors eligible to vote for the Provincial Magistrate or the Provincial Assembly members.
The Local Circle means the geographic circle that comprises electors eligible to vote for members of the Local Assembly.
The Referendum means the procedure that is carried out by “The Commission “to hold a national referendum according to article 26 of this law.
The Higher Councils means the councils formed according to article 6 of this law.
The Periphery Council means the periphery council for any election or referendum formed according to article 8 of this law.
The Elector means the elector for the direct or special or indirect elections whose proficiency requirements are detailed in article 10 of this law.
The Elections means the polling of the electors according to the Constitution and the Law to elect the President, or Provincial Magistrates, or National Assembly members, or Provincial or Local Assembly members, or the governor or the members of any party “The Commission” should hold a referendum for.
The Commission means the general elections’ commission mentioned in article 4 of this law.
Chapter Two:
The Commission:
The Commission and its Structure and its Responsibilities
Article Four:
1- An independent commission shall be established and named “the General Elections Commissions” having a legal personality.
2- By a Presidential decree and the approval of the National Assembly, The Commission shall comprise of a president and two members, on the condition that they are chosen for their merit, neutrality and honesty. The President shall fix their stipends.
3- The Commission shall be liable to the President and the National Assembly for its actions.
The Commission’s Jurisdictions and Powers
Article Five: “The Commission” shall have the jurisdiction and the power to prepare the general record and any other document, and to impose general rules for the elections and the referendums, and to take executive measures to administer these acts. The Commission, and none else, shall have the following jurisdictions and powers:
a) Preparing the general elections record, its publication, its safekeeping, its annual revision and its endorsement,
b) Preparing the electors’ record for the indirect elections,
c) Carrying out the elections for the President of the Republic or the Provincial Magistrate, and for members of the National Assembly and of the Provincial and Local Assemblies,
d) Carrying out the referendum according to the constitution of the Republic,
e) Delineating the geographic circles for the direct elections,
f) Displaying fairly the candidates to the voters through the public media and communication means,
g) Fixing the procedures and the time schedules for the candidates to declare their candidacy and their endorsement, for the appeals and the tasks of the “Reconciliatory Council”, for the withdrawal of candidates and for the final tally of the candidates,
h) Regulating the display of the candidates for the public opinion, and preparing labels for the candidates to present them to voters, and arranging the representation of the candidates, and keeping the timing of all these procedures,
i) Fixing the proceedings and the time-schedules and preparing the local polling stations,
j) Fixing the measures to ensure discipline, freedom and justice in the polling proceedings, and to ensure proper control over these measures,
k) Checking the number of voting cards, and regulating the tally of the final results, the elections and the referendum, and declaring the election’s or the referendum’s final results,
l) Postponing any election’s or referendum’s procedure due to a force majeure, and abrogating the election results if the Commission receives any proof of misconduct in any circle, on the condition that it should redress the faux pas as soon as possible,
m) Fixing the tasks, the powers, the procedures and the service conditions of the registration officers or the election or referendum officers,
n) Rectify any matters or procedures or orders necessary for the registration or the election or the referendum processes.
Chapter Three:
The Higher Councils and the Appointment of Registration and Election Officers:
Creation of the Higher Councils
Article Six: The Commission shall create Higher Councils for the Provinces to revise the registration process, or to carry out elections or referendums, or to carry out any procedure falling within the Commission’s jurisdiction. Members of the Higher Councils shall be chosen for their neutrality, independence and honesty.
The Higher Councils’ jurisdictions and powers
Article Seven: The Higher Councils shall have the following jurisdictions and powers:
a) Issuing orders or decisions or measures to control the registration process or the elections or the referendum processes according to the rules of this law and the rules enunciated by the Commission,
b) Prompting the necessary arrangements for the candidacy and the general display of the candidates to the voters, and regulating the publication and the promotion of the candidates’ programs,
c) Taking the necessary arrangements to run the voting procedure,
d) Conveying any results or recommendation to the Commission,
e) Any other jurisdictions or powers designated to it by the Commission.
Creation of Periphery Councils
Article Eight: The Higher Council has the right, upon the approval of the Commission, to create temporary Periphery Councils in every referendum circle or station or indirect election post, and to fix their jurisdictions and powers.
Registration and Election Officers
Article Nine:
1- The Commission appoints permanent officers to regulate the public election record and to maintain it, or temporary officers to review the public election record in the Periphery Council’s command headquarters that has that authority.
2- The Higher Council appoints temporary officers to carry a referendum for or to elect the command of any Periphery Council in any indirect election post or circle.
3- The Commission has the right to appoint temporary councils to do any check or investigation or revision concerning any election or referendum

2- The voter voting for direct elections has to have resided in the circle where elections will take place for at least three months at the time of the closing of the voters’ record.
3- The voter voting for the Presidency or taking part of the referendum while outside Sudan has to be residing in the foreign country with the appropriate visa and not merely visiting.
4- The voter voting for the scientific section must have had a diploma in a field requiring the completion of two or more years past secondary education and licensed from the appropriate authority.
5- The voter voting for the professional section must be a member of a national union or a provincial union or whatever takes their places.
Preparing the Election Record
Article Eleven:
1- The Commission does the following:
a) Tallying all the voters according to their eligibility standards and enrolling them in the public election record,
b) Stating the place of residence of the voters and preparing lists of them in the election record on the national circle or the provincial or local circles, and maintaining that record,
c) Declaring the voters from the scientific and professional sections in a record and maintain it,
d) Reviewing what has been declared in the record two months before the end of the year to check whether the voters declared meet the eligibility standards, or declare them in a different list if they change their places of residency, or take out any voters who lost their eligibility standards,
e) Publish all the lists and make them open to any review or appeal so that they would become final lists in the record by the end of the year.
2- The Commission might ask the aid of any popular or governmental front to be able to declare and encompass the voters or to register them.
Delineating the Circles
Article Twelve: The Commission delineates the circles for direct elections on the condition that the number of people encompassed into the National Circle must not be in excess of or less than 20% of the median standard. The median standard represents the total population of the Sudanese Republic or province or locality divided by the number of members in the National Assembly or the Provincial or Local Assemblies who were elected directly respectively.

The Evidential Force of the Election Record
Article Thirteen: When the Commission certifies the election record after its closing at the end of the year, it becomes an evidence regarding the eligibility of the registered voter, and no appeal would be heard about any procedure pertaining to it.
Chapter Five:
Nomination and Accession:
Nomination of the Candidate
Article Fourteen:
1- No person can nominate themselves for the elections,
2- No less then 20 people can nominate a candidate for the elections for a membership in the National Assembly or the Provincial or Local Assemblies, on the condition that these candidates should meet the eligibility of the voters,
3- No fees shall be levied from the candidate, however, every nominee has to pay nomination fees, and every nominee has to pay insurance according to the regulations,
4- Every nomination shall hold the candidate’s name and address and qualifications, in addition to the names and addresses of the nominators. The candidate should meet the eligibility standards stipulated in the constitution and the law, and his written agreement to the nomination has to be attached.
Eligibility of the Candidate
Article Fifteen:
1- The eligibility requirements for the candidate for the membership of the National Assembly or the Provincial or Local Assemblies are the same requirements stipulated in article 68 of the constitution,
2- The eligibility requirements for the candidate from the scientific section should be the same as the eligibility requirements of the voters of that section according to article 10(4) of the law,
3- The candidate from the professional section should be a member of National or Provincial Union or whatever takes their places according to article 10(5) of the law.
Obligations of the Candidate for the National, Provincial or Local Assemblies
Article Sixteen: no person shall be nominated to the National, Provincial or Local Assemblies unless they present the following to the Commission:
a) Acknowledgment to abide by the constitution,
b) A certificate of their resignation from any public office, provided they do not lose their workers’ status,
c) A declaration by the candidate whether they are independent or they belong to a registered group in accordance with the Organizing of Political Allegiance Law for the year 1998.
Acceptance of the Nominees
Article Seventeen: The Higher Council shall accept the nominees after the lapse of the appeal period according to the regulations.
The Reconciliatory Council
Article Eighteen: The Commission might appoint in any National, Provincial or Local circle a temporary Reconciliatory Council from scrupulous people who are not to be nominees.

Jurisdiction of the Reconciliatory Council
Article Nineteen: The Reconciliatory Council shall discuss and consult with all candidates after the lapse of the administrative and judicial appeal period in order to convince any candidate to willingly withdraw their nomination.
Chapter Six:
The Presidential Election:
Nomination for the Presidency
Article Twenty:
1- No less then 100 people from each province from no less than one-half of the total provinces of Sudan and who meet voter eligibility requirements shall nominate any person who meets the requirements for the Presidency for the position of the President,
2- It shall be provided in the nomination application the name of the candidate, their address and their qualifications, the names of the people who nominated them, their addresses and qualifications. Also attached must be the candidate’s written approval of their nomination,
3- The candidate pays no fees. However, the person who nominates a candidate has to pay a nomination fee, and the candidate has to pay insurance money in accordance with the rules.
The Presidential or Local Magistrate Candidate’s Obligations
Article Twenty-one: No one shall be nominated for presidential or local magistrate position unless the following are satisfied:
a) A commitment to adhere to the constitution,
b) A resignation-approval certificate if the candidate was a public employee,
c) A declaration by the candidate that they were independent or belonged to a grouping registered according to the Organizing of Political Allegiance Law for the year 1998.
The Commission’s Placing of the Presidential Nomination’s Rules
Article Twenty-two:
1- The Commission shall place the rules and time schedules for the nomination according to eligibility, and for the appeals and the resolution of these appeals,
2- The Commission shall place the rules and time schedules for the fair exposing of the Presidential candidates,
3- The Commission shall conduct the voting course and set the time schedule and the regulations for this course.
Chapter Seven:
The Ballot
Designating and Regulating the Ballot Center
Article Twenty-three:
1- The Commission shall designate the ballot centers to receive voters taking into consideration their closeness to voters’ homes. The Commission shall also regulate the working of these centers, their duration, their conclusion, their order and their cleanness of any form of electoral corruption,
2- The Commission shall make arrangements to help handicapped or illiterate individuals, and to gauge election slips and election boxes, and to tally the votes with every precision, revise the tally and reach a result,
3- The Commission shall organize the acceptance of the nominees’ delegates and their attendance of the voting and counting processes.
The Conscientious Observers
Article Twenty-four: The Commission shall appoint legal or judicial or other conscientious observers in consultation with the authorized authorities to improve the procedures and to constitute the general certificate for the lawfulness and the impartiality of the elections.
The Election’s Results
Article Twenty-five:
1- The Higher Council with full constituency shall decide the result of the elections in the following manner:
a) If all other nominees withdrew their nomination leaving only one winning by consensus,
b) If one of the nominees won by getting the highest votes,
2- The result shall be yielded to the Commission, and any appeal will be filed with it according to the rules, then the Commission shall decide if a revision is required and declare the validity or invalidity of the final results as soon as possible,
3- When the Commission declares the final results, they become a fait accompli and no judicial or administrative appeal shall be heard concerning them,
4- The Commission shall declare the election results through audio-visual media.

The Referendum
Yielding the Matter to the Commission for Referendum
Article Twenty-six: The Commission holds a referendum regarding any matter proposed to it by the President or the National Council if agreed upon by consensus or a (50%+1) majority vote, for the reason of making a decision in any matter that reverberates the higher values or the national will or the public interests.
Referendum Procedures and Rules
Article Twenty-seven:
1- The Commission shall determine the time of exhibiting the matter proposed for the referendum so that the public has sufficient time to become acquainted with it and discuss it,
2- Only people who are eligible for voting shall partake in the referendum,
3- Exhibiting the proposed matter shall be done in a period not exceeding sixty days from the day the Commission receives it according to rules specified by the Commission,
4- The Commission shall conduct the referendum and declare the results,
5- The proposed matter shall pass in a referendum if it wins the confidence of (50%+1) of the eligible voters,
6- Any matter approved by a national referendum shall have a status above the statute and shall only be revoked according to the rules of the constitution.

Chapter Nine:
Membership of the National Assembly and the Provincial Assembly
Membership of the National Assembly
Article Twenty-eight: The National Assembly shall comprise of 360 deputy members elected according to the following:
a) 270 deputies voted directly from the National Circles,
b) 90 deputies voted by special voting and indirect voting in the following manner:
1- 35 female deputies elected by special voting from female voters, each deputy representing one province, except for the most inhabited three provinces where each province is represented by three deputies, and the next more inhabited three provinces where each province is represented by two deputies,
2- 26 deputies elected by special voting from voters from the scientific section in accordance with article 10(4) registered in each province, where each province is represented by one deputy,
3- 29 deputies elected by indirect voting from voters from the professional section in the following manner: – 11 deputies elected by members of the Workers’ Union General Conference nationally in Sudan; – 10 deputies elected by members of the Farmers’ Union General Conference nationally in Sudan; – 3 deputies elected by members of the Employers’ Union General Conference nationally in Sudan; – 5 deputies elected by members of the Shepherds’ Union General Conference nationally in Sudan.

Article Twenty-nine:
1- The Provincial Assemblies shall comprise of a number proportionate with the population density in the following manner:
a) where the Province’s total population is not in excess of one million: 48 deputy members,
b) where the Province’s total population exceeds one million but is less than two million: 60 deputy members,
c) where the Province’s total population exceeds two million but is less than three million: 72 deputy members,
d) where the Province’s total population exceeds three million: 84 deputy members,
2- Three quarters of the number of the members of the Provincial Assembly shall be deputies elected by direct voting in the Provincial Circles,
3- One quarter of the number of the members of the Provincial Assembly shall be deputies elected by a special vote or indirect vote in the following manner:
a) one third female eligible voters in the Province (4 or 5 or 6 or 7 deputies according to the number of the Assembly),
b) one third scientific from the scientific voters section in the Province (4 or 5 or 6 or 7 according to the number of the Assembly),
c) one third professionals from the professional voters section in the Province (4 or 5 or 6 or 7 according to the number of the Assembly), provided that each union’s voters elect one deputy representing them. The Commission shall decide, where the number of deputies from the Professional section exceeds four in any one Province, to raise the number of representation of a section by one deputy or two deputies according to the number of members of the section and their effectiveness.
Chapter Ten:
General Provisions
The Administrative Structure
Article Thirty:
1- The Commission shall establish its administrative and functional structure, and submit it to the President for approval,
2- The Commission can appoint employees and workers in accordance with its functional structure,
3- The Commission shall decide the terms of service for temporary employees appointed for registration, elections and referendum.
The Commission’s Budget
Article Thirty-one:
1- The Commission shall have an independent budget prepared according to sound accountancy principles in order to carry out its tasks, and shall submit it to the President to endorse it within the national state budget,
2- The Commission’s funds shall be deposited in checking or savings accounts in the banks according to the banking regulations observed in the country,
3- The Commission shall retain accurate and complete accounts, and it will also retain books and documents according to sound accountancy principles.
Revision
Article Thirty-two: The Public Revision Department or whoever it authorizes under its supervision shall revise the Commission’s accounts at the end of each fiscal year in order to submit it to the President and to the National Assembly.
The Head and Members of the Commission’s Immunity
Article Thirty-three: Unless caught red-handed, no criminal procedures shall be taken against the head of the Commission or any of its members without the sanction of the President.
The Authority to Utilize Means of Public Transportation
Article Thirty-four: The Commission can, upon the approval of the President and in serious cases, when conducting Presidential or Magistrate election or the referendum, and in coordination with the specialized state department, temporarily use the necessary means of transportation from the public sector.
The Authority to Issue Rules
Article Thirty-five: The Commission can issue rules to help implement the provisions of this law.