ATLANTA — The Carter Center said Sudan's recent elections were "highly chaotic, non-transparent and vulnerable to electoral manipulation."

The Atlanta-based center said Monday it was concerned about the accuracy of the preliminary results announced by Sudan's National Elections Commission.

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir won the election in April by a comfortable majority in elections marred by boycotts and fraud allegations. He became the first head of state to be re-elected while facing an international arrest warrant for war crimes.

The Carter Center said in a statement that safeguards meant to ensure accuracy and transparency were "routinely bypassed." And it said monitors were concerned about election-related violence and intimidation in several states in Sudan.

___

On the Net:

http://www.cartercenter.org