[JURIST] Rival political parties in Sudan [JURIST news archive] have accused each other of fraud, torture, intimidation, and sabotage as voters began registering Sunday for the first democratic multi-party elections in almost a quarter of a century, slated for April of next year. The dominant National Congress Party (NCP) [party website] has been accused of buying votes, using government resources for their campaign, and busing people into areas for registration where they do not currently reside. The NCP and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) [FAS backgrounder] comprise the current coalition government created pursuant to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) [UN press release] that ended two decades of civil war. Both parties have been disagreeing on sensitive electoral issues [Sudan Tribune report] relating to the required number of voters needed to recognize the voting process and to declare the independence of Southern Sudan.

Last November, the Sudanese parliament approved the appointment of a nine-member independent electoral commission [JURIST report] to oversee the upcoming vote. In July 2008, the parliament passed a long-anticipated electoral law [JURIST report] dictating how the country's parliamentary seats will be allotted. The law reserves some seats for candidates chosen by popular vote, and some for proportional representation of political parties including seats reserved for women. Following the signing of the CPA, the country also approved a new constitution and installed a new government, and the country's state of emergency was lifted [JURIST reports], except in Darfur and a region on the eastern border.

[JURIST] US officials are conducting reviews to determine which Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees may face trials in military or civilian courts in the US, according to statements [AP report] made by Attorney General Eric Holder [official profile] to reporters Sunday. Holder also said a decision on whether to hold such proceedings may come as early as November 16. The remarks came as Holder was attending the Sixth Ministerial Global Forum on Fighting Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity [official website] held in Doha, Qatar. Holder did not make it clear whether the reviews include those accused in the 9/11 attacks [JURIST news archive].

Last week, the US Senate [official website] voted 54-45 [roll call vote; JURIST report] to defeat an amendment [S AMDT 2669 materials] to an appropriations bill [HR 2847 materials] that would have prevented Guantanamo detainees accused of involvement in 9/11 from being tried in federal courts. In October, US President Barack Obama signed [JURIST report] into law the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2010 [HR 2892 materials], which allows for Guantanamo Bay detainees to be transferred to the US for prosecution. The legislation came after Holder indicated that the Obama administration might miss its January deadline for closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, echoing prior statements [JURIST reports] by top administration officials.

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] late Saturday passed [press release] landmark legislation [HR 3962 materials] designed to reform the US health care system. The bill, entitled the Affordable Health Care for America Act, passed by a narrow vote of 220-215 [roll call], with only one Republican, Congressman Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA) [official website], voting with the majority. The legislation has an estimated cost of around $1 trillon [WSJ report] over ten years and would provide insurance [AP report] to 36 million more people, extending coverage to nearly 96 percent of Americans. It also expands eligibility for Medicaid [official website], includes subsidies for middle-class citizens whose employers do not provide access to affordable coverage, and provides measures prohibiting health care providers from refusing coverage due to pre-existing conditions. The House bill includes the so-called "public option," a government-provided insurance alternative to private insurance when that is unavailable. Also on Saturday, in a last-minute compromise prior to voting on the entire reform bill, the House approved an amendment [materials] strictly limiting the use of public funds to cover abortion procedures by a vote of 240-194 [roll call].

The final health care package is a combination of similar bills passed by House committees over the summer. Other legislation is moving through the Senate. Health care reform [JURIST news archive] has been a top priority of the Obama administration over the past several months. Some have complained that without a public option for low-income individuals, reform would not go far enough to fix the nation's health care system. Conservatives have argued that proposed additional taxes on expensive insurance policies already in place would make reform too costly. Approximately 47 million Americans are uninsured, according to the National Coalition on Health Care [advocacy website], though that number is disputed.