Sudan constitution limits presidential terms to two: NCP
March 28, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The head of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) parliamentary bloc Ghazi Salah al-Deen al-Attabani said today that the current constitution governs the issue of presidential terms.
This month president Omer Hassan al-Bashir said in an interview that he will not seek reelection at the end of his term in 2015 underscoring that the country needs new blood.
Several NCP officials including 1st VP Ali Osman Taha suggested in press statements that Bashir could be compelled to run again if the party insists on that.
But Al-Attabani, who is known to be privately critical of the NCP, appeared to raise a legal issue related to the Bashir’s reelection.
The former presidential adviser said that the two-term limit cannot be changed unless the clause is amended in the new constitution thus suggesting that as it stands Bashir is constitutionally barred from running for reelection.
Al-Attabani further said that this issue was brought up for discussion during the meetings of the NCP MP’s.
But al-Bashir only ran for president once April 2010 after the 2005 constitution was adopted so it is not clear if he has exhausted his term limits.
In a separate issue, al-Attabani said he supports steps towards national reconciliation but cautioned that the government should not use that as a slogan and should make a real commitment to create a conducive environment for dialogue that is seen as credible by opposition parties.
“It is not sufficient to just declare that we will conduct dialogue but it should be followed by measures to create a [healthy] climate” he said.
He also called for reviewing some of the actions taken against newspapers which are used by the opposition as proof for lack of freedoms.
“Any measures taken outside the constitution must be rectified,” al-Attabani said.
On Wednesday VP Taha urged opposition and rebels alike to engage in political dialogue with the government and participate in drafting the new constitution.
But opposition parties expressed skepticism over Taha’s appeal saying that the NCP has a history of breaking promises and not following through on its pledges of ending restrictions on basic freedoms.
In recent months the government have stepped up its crackdown on newspapers and closed several pro-democracy centers as well.
Last November the Sudanese authorities announced that it thwarted a coup attempt planned by former spy chief and presidential adviser Salah Gosh along with dozens of army and security officers who are pro-regime.
(ST)