Sudan has extended nationwide elections by one day after a low turnout the opposition said reflected apathy towards a vote President Omar al-Bashir is widely expected to win.
The 71-year-old career soldier, indicted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, is seeking to extend his quarter-century rule virtually unopposed.
He faces 13 little-known challengers in an election boycotted by the mainstream opposition in the country of nearly 38 million people, the third most-populous state in the Arab world.
Two of the original 15 candidates for the presidency -- independents Omar Awad al-Karim and Ahmed Radhi -- said yesterday they were withdrawing from the vote after the extension.
Radhi told AFP he was withdrawing "because of the many irregularities in the process".
And Karim labelled the vote a "political farce" at a press conference in his home, also citing irregularities.
Since voting began Monday, the elections for the presidency and for national and state parliaments have seen a poor turnout.
Polls had been due to close yesterday evening, but the National Electoral Commission announced they would stay open today in all districts.
The extensions are to allow Sudanese "to choose their representatives in the national and state parliaments and the presidency of the republic," NEC chief Mokhtar al-Asam told a press conference.
The opposition Umma Party, which is boycotting the vote, seized on the trickle of voters as a sign of disillusionment.
"It was expected the turnout would be like this, because it will bring no change," said Umma deputy head Maryam al-Mahdi.
"Bashir will sweep all the votes for the presidency. There is absolutely no competition in this election."
Most opposition parties have called for a boycott, organising small sit-ins against the vote.
An activist detained as she was travelling to one such protest the day before polls opened was released yesterday, one of her colleagues said.
Sandra Kaduda was "released and returned to her home," said Amal Habani, a journalist and activist close to the family.
Habani said Kaduda's family would issue a statement about her detention later.
