Sudan prepares for historic vote in pictures

A supporter of Salva Kiir, the President of Southern Sudan and Vice-President of Sudan, holds posters showing Kiir's image during a political rally in Bentiu, Unity State, Southern Sudan

Voters in Africa's largest country - Sudan - will start voting on Sunday to elect their next president, the 450-member National Assembly and the governors and legislative bodies for each of the 25 states.

A Sudanese man rides a cart past a man standing next to a torn campaign poster for Yasser Arman, former candidate for the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, in Khartoum

The voting is set to last three days. The polls were being billed as the country's first democratic election in 24 years. But their credibility is under doubt now that the main opposition groups are boycotting them.

Sudan's semi-autonomous southern region will also choose its own regional president and 171-seat assembly, making the polls among the most complex ever.

But confusion has been caused by the decision of the former southern rebel group Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) to boycott the presidential election and the parliamentary vote across much of the north.

A Sudanese woman uses her mobile while passing by electoral posters at the main market in Darfur's capital, El Fasher

Another one of Sudan's main opposition parties, the National Ummah Party has also withdrawn from the presidential, parliamentary and state polls citing fears of rigging.

Members of an opposition group named Girifna (We're Fed Up) protest outside the offices of the Sudanese National Elections Commission in Khartoum, calling for free and fair elections

So now, only minor opposition parties are due to take part in the country's northern areas.

A Sudanese worker carries a box containing election material including ballot papers and voting booths, into a waiting helicopter of the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (Unamid) to be transported to the voting centre of the north Darfur town, Mellit, at the airport of El Fasher, Darfur

And earlier this week, the European Union announced that it was pulling its election observers out of the war-torn western region of Darfur over security fears.

Sudanese refugee boys stand by a Unamid (African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur) peacekeeper guarding a nearby polling station at Abu Shouk refugee camp, on the outskirts of Darfur's capital, El Fasher

Voter turnout is expected to be low at the refugee camps in Darfur, where many of the 2.7 million displaced people of the troubled region have been forced to live.

Sudanese Muslims perform Zikir, the repetition of mystical formula, at the yard of Burhaniya mosque during a parade of the Sufi celebration Moulid al Burhani in Khartoum

The Khartoum authorities insist that the vote will go ahead as normal. Incumbent President Omar al-Bashir also insisted that the polls would be clean as it was "a religious duty".

Electoral posters for the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) that says "Leading party for a leading country, choose the the strong and loyal" are seen at the main market in Darfur's capital, El Fasher

This poll was part of the 2005 peace deal which ended more than two decades of conflict between the mainly Muslim north and the south where most people are Christian or follow traditional religions.

Salva Kiir, the President of Southern Sudan and Vice-President of Sudan, is surrounded by his security detail during a rally at the local stadium in Bentiu, Unity State, Southern Sudan

SPLM chairman Salva Kiir Mayardit is seeking to retain his position as president of the Southern Sudan government.

Sudanese pass under a billboard supporting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 8, 2010 during a Muslim Sufi celebration.

President Bashir is hoping the election will give him recognition and legitimacy at home and abroad.

Sudanese refugees guide their sheep at the entrance of the refugee camp of Zamzam at the outskirts of Darfur's capital, El Fasher

Voters are expecting to hear who their new leaders will be on 18 April. If there is no clear winner for the presidency, the two leading candidates will enter a second-round run-off on 10 May.