IFES Election Guide - Country Profile: Sudan

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Upcoming Elections

Referendum
January 3, 2011
Referendum
2011

Sudan
Republic of the Sudan
Region: Africa

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR
Head of Government: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR
Assembly: Sudan has a bicameral National Legislature consisting of the Council of States with 50 seats and the National Assembly with 450 seats.

Description of electoral system:

The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system.
In the Council of States 50 members are elected by indirect vote to serve 6-year terms*. In the National Assembly 450 members are elected by popular vote to serve 6-year terms.**

* Two members are elected by the legislature of each of 25 states.

** 60 percent of seats are elected by plurality vote in single-member districts. 15 percent of seats are elected under closed-list proportional representation. Multi-member constituencies correspond to states, and the threshold is 4 percent in each. Finally, 25 percent of seats are elected under closed-list proportional representation from lists that may contain only women. Again, the constituencies correspond to states, and the threshold is 4 percent in each.