At stake in this election:     

• 426 seats in the NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (Majlis Watani)*

*Following the independence of South Sudan, the total number of representatives in the National Assembly was reduced to 354 and has remained there.  It is unclear at this stage whether or not the body will be restored to its original size with the 2015 elections.^[1]

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR
• Head of Government: President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR
• Assembly: The bicameral National Legislature is composed of the National Assembly and the newly-created Council of States.  Members of both legislatures serve six-year terms.^[2]

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.

Election Note:

• The legislative and presidential elections of 2015 will be the first elections held in Sudan since the referendum that led to the creation of South Sudan in 2011.  The last legislative and presidential elections in Sudan took place in 2010 before the divide. 

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: National Congress Party (NCP)
• Leader: Omar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR
• Seats won in last election: 323
• Seats won in this election: 323
• Party: Democratic Unionist Party
• Leader: Mohamed Osman al-MIRGHANI
• Seats won in this election: 25
• Party: Democratic Unionist Party
• Leader: Jalal al-DIGAIR
• Seats won in this election: 15
• List of Opposition parties in Sudan^[3]**:
• Eastern Front
• Forum of Just Peace (FJP)
• Girifna
• Islamic Charter Front (ICF)
• Islamic Constitution Front
• Islamic Liberation Movement (ILM)
• Just Peace Forum (JPF)
• Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
• Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM)
• Muslim Brotherhood
• National Consensus Forces (NCF)
• National Democratic Alliance (NDA)
• New National Democratic Party (NNDP)
• Sudanese Ba’ath Party
• Sudanese Communist Party (SCP)
• Umma Reform and Renewal Party

** The names of the parties that are officially registered to compete were unavailable on the National Election Commission’s website.  However, 44 parties are said to have registered^[4] and the NEC has registered 1,072 candidates for the National assembly and 2,235 candidates for the Council of States.^[5]  It is also noted that “Most of the 29 political parties which will take part in the elections are either newly formed or factions which split from big historic parties.”^[6] The National Umma Party (NUP), the Popular Congress Party (PCP), and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) will not be participating in the election.^[7] 

Last election:^[8]

• The last election for the National House of Representatives was held on 11-15 April 2010.  There were 16,500,000 registered voters for the election.  The National Congress Party (NCP) won 323 seats (of 450) while the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)* won 99 seats, the Popular Congress Party (PCP) won 4 seats, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) won 4 seats, the Umma Federal Party (UFP) won 3 seats, the Umma Renewal and Reform Party (URRP) won 2 seats, the Democratic Unionist Party-Original (DUPO) won 2 seats, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-Democratic Change (SPLM-DC) won 2 seats, Others won 4 seats, Independents won 3 seats, and 4 seats remained vacant. 

*When South Sudan gained independence, the SPLM became the ruling party of the new state.  The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-North (SPLM-N/SPLA-N) is now a “banned political party and military organization.”^[9] 

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 35,482,233 (July 2014 est.)^[10]
• Registered Voters: N/A

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 17,584,744 (2014 est.)^[11]
• Is Sudan a signatory to CEDAW: No
• Has Sudan ratified CEDAW: No[12]
• Gender Quota:  Yes, electoral law sets one for the lower house^[13]
• Female Candidates in this election: Yes
• Number of Female Legislators: 88 (25%) of the current 354 seats in the NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (Majlis Watani)[14]
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 166[15]
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very High[16]

Disability Data:

• Is Sudan a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)
• Has Sudan ratified CRPD: Yes (24 April 2009)[17]