The capital witnessed a night of heavy fighting as clashes broke out on the outskirts of Tripoli, lasting from the early hours of this morning until dawn.

Militiamen reportedly voted much more than once in Saraf Umra. The ballot boxes at the Aradeiba polling centre in Saraf Umra locality were stolen today. Government-backed militiamen are threatening to kill people in Birkat Seira and surroundings, if they do not vote for incumbent President Al Bashir and the local candidate of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

The Cabinet approved three bills on Wednesday that could allow the often-postponed parliamentary elections to finally take place. Ministers sent the draft laws to the State Council for review before they’re put to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for final approval.

The bills include the Political Participation Law, the Parliamentary Elections Law and the Electoral Constituency Law.

After a brief discussion, Egypt's cabinet in a plenary meeting on Wednesday approved in concept amendments for two election laws necessary to move the country's long-awaited parliamentary elections forward. The two laws are on the workings of the House of Representatives, or Egypt's lower house parliament, and the Division of Electoral Constituencies.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Ibrahim El-Heneidy told reporters that Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab met in person with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to review the main amendments of the two laws.

“We appeal to the conscience of citizens not to vote for candidates who are known for their criminal or corrupt past," an open letter from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference said on Tuesday.

“Even an election boycott or a blank ballot is an option and a voice that must be heard and a right that must be used in specific conditions. If any of the candidates doesn’t fulfil the criteria, then a boycott becomes a moral duty,” the letter said.

Various sources in Sudan reported the detention of a number of anti-election campaigners during the past few days. 

According to the Darfur Bar Association, human rights lawyer Musa Zakariya Juju and his client were detained in Khartoum on Sunday. Lawyer Ali Saeed Kuku was held at his office in El Sawra district in Omdurman. University teaching assistant Khaled Khalil Musa, and teacher Khamees Hamdan were taken from their homes in El Sawra.