Sudan’s ruling party is keen on conducting national elections: official

December 3, 2009 (KHARTOUM) – A senior official at Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) said that they are keen on conducting nationwide elections “to achieve the democratic transformation that the country requires.

The Sudanese presidential assistant Nafi Ali Nafi and the NCP VP made the remarks in a meeting with the chairman of the People’s Forces for Rights and Democracy (PFRD) Hesham Norain.

Nafi told Norain that the NCP will cooperate with all political parties particularly the PFRD being the first Darfurian party to officially register as a political party entitling it to carry out political activity.

The NCP powerful figure stressed that there is no problems with “fair political competition”.

Norain said the meeting discussed ways to make democratic transformation in Sudan a success and the party’s efforts in facilitating the voter registration process “as an important step of the electoral process”.

He pointed out the efforts made by his party in this process “by urging the bases in all parts of Sudan” to participate in this process and register for voting and revealed that he will start the campaigning process should start shortly.

Sudan is scheduled to hold post-war general elections in April 2010 in accordance with the North-South peace deal signed in 2005.

The conduct of the elections is seen as crucial step in the process for democratic transformation in the country prior to 2011 referendum on Southern Sudan independence.

However, the major opposition parties have accused the NCP of seeking to defraud the voter registration process and slammed the restrictions imposed by the ruling party on political activities and the upholding of “freedom restricting laws”.

(ST)