Amidst government-driven genocide, experts increasingly fear that the citizens of Sudan will not get the chance to vote in the country's first scheduled democratic election.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement, voluntarily signed by conflicting sides in Sudan in 2005, states that a democratic election must occur in Sudan by July 2009. But Sudan faces logistical and capacity issues, such as where refugees and internally displaced persons will vote, as well as delays in the implementation of CPA laws for free and fair elections.

“It is our conclusion that peace in Sudan is in jeopardy” said Felice D. Gaer, chair of the U. S. Commission for International Religious Freedom. USCIRF believes that lack of cooperation by President Bashir and the National Congress Party is mostly responsible for the election delay, as well as holdups with CPA implementation in general.

Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., addressed the issues surrounding the election at a Feb. 11 press conference releasing policy recommendations for peace in Sudan. Joining him were were Reps. Frank Wolf, R-Va., Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and Chris Smith, R-N.J. The recommendations, from the USCIRF, were addressed to the Obama administration and Congress.

The USCIRF is pushing for the appointment of a presidential special envoy to focus on successful CPA implementation. Gaer called this their most urgent recommendation. The commission is also looking for ways to hold all Sudanese parties responsible for carrying out the CPA election provisions.

The CPA incorporates three main milestones, said Tiffany Lynch, a researcher at USCIRF: the national census, national elections, and a national referendum. The national census was carried out in 2008, after several delays. The referendum is set to take place in 2011.

In the meantime, the people of Sudan are suffering. John Prendergast, co-chair of the Enough Project, said that when he went to Darfur the people asked him how there could be peace when their president, Umar al-Bashir, is trying to kill them. Lee called Sudan a horrific genocide. Wolf said, emphatically, that he hopes to see the genocide end by this year. The USCIRF considers the CPA, and thus the election, to be crucial in relieving the people’s suffering.“I think we all know what we need to do. It’s just a matter of the will to do it,” Lee said.

Wolf encouraged the commission never to wonder whether a problem is their job. He cited Martin Luther King Jr., who said that often the silence of their friends, rather than the words of their enemies, is what people most remember.

The commission considers the CPA stipulations to be of crucial importance. Gaer believes their implementation has reached a critical stage.

“If the Northern-Southern treaty fails, you can forget about peace in Sudan,” said Commissioner Nina Shea.

If the CPA’s implementation is further disrupted by the failure to have a Sudanese democratic election on time, those defending the people of Sudan do not plan to give up. “We must be willing to explore other options,” Payne said.

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