Early results on 20 April showed that President Omar al-Bashir's party National Congress was well ahead.

[5] The elections were originally scheduled to be held from March to April 2009, but there were reports that they may be delayed up to six months from the latest possible date of July 2009 due to problems with the preparation of the vote.

The electoral commission released the date after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Bashir on 4 March 2009.

[10][11] It is unknown if the Darfurian amalgamation referendum, due to take place in July 2010, will be pulled back to match the general election.

[21] The law is based on a mixed electoral system, utilizing the benefits of majoritarian, proportional representation and plurality models.

[28] He will also be supported by the former eastern rebels from the Beja Congress, to increase the chances of unseating Omar al-Bashir, who has held power since 1989.

[30] Opposition parties including the SPLM considered nominating Sadiq al-Mahdi, who was Prime Minister from 1986 to 1989, as their presidential candidate.

[33] The university professor Abdullah Ali Ibrahim planned to run as an independent presidential candidate.

[34] One of the renowned female politicians, professor Fatima Abdel Mahmoud, was nominated by the Sudanese Socialist Democratic Union Party which she leads, as their candidate for the Presidency.

[1] However, former American President Jimmy Carter said he was happy with the extension of voting days while monitoring the elections (along with an EU contingent).

[38] Issues of manipulation of the electoral districts have also been a problem and were detailed in a report by the Rift Valley Institute in April 2010.

[42] On 26 April, President Bashir's party National Congress was officially declared the winner after Sudan's election commission announced he received 68% of the votes.

"[44] Western observers, from the EU and the Carter Centre, criticised the polls as "not meeting international standards".