Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) – A 109-year-old woman who trekked to a polling booth to cast her vote in Sudan’s ongoing presidential and parliamentary polls made newspaper headlines in the North African nation last week.
Fatima Ismail Mohamed Ali voted the second day of the three-day polls.
The Independent daily, Akhbar al youm, featured a picture of the frail and bent woman on her way to the polling station in Kadada centre, north Kordufan state.
Al-Bashir, who came to power in a bloodless coup d’état in June 1989, has since been elected twice (in 2005 and 2010).
He is seeking a third term, and his ruling National Congress party is widely tipped to win the election in the absence of a vigorous opposition.
The old woman made headlines because Sudanese are known to be generally reticent about going to polling stations.
The participation of such people as 109-year-old Fatima has “sparked enthusiasm among the young people in the area”, the daily Akhbar al Youm said.
