Sudan’s NCP says election’s boycott threaten political stability

August 17, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan’s dominant National Congress Party has warned today the opposition parties that any action to stop the next year elections would threaten the political stability in the country and endanger the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

The NCP was reacting to the threat of boycott issued yesterday by some 24 opposition parties who said they would not participate in the upcoming elections if laws restricting public freedoms are not amended before the end of October.

Sudan is expected to hold in April 2010 its first fair free elections for the presidency of the republic and in southern Sudan semi-autonomous region as well as the governors at the states level. In addition, Sudanese will elect their MPs for the federal, southern Sudan and regional parliaments. The elections will mark the end of the interim period that started in July 2005 following the signing of the CPA.

The NCP political sector, in a meeting held on Sunday, called on the political forces to deal with high degree of accountability and transparency with the implementation of the CPA and to stop sending negative signals to the Sudanese people over the real causes that could prevent them from taking part in the elections.

The dominant party was alluding to the difficult situation of the Sudanese opposition forces which are weakened by more than twenty years of opposition and witnessing divisions and lack of funds to finance their political campaigns.

Kamal Obeid, the NCP secretary of information, in a press statement following the meeting said that the Political Sector discussed the relations with various political forces and the preparations to hold the election on the scheduled date.

(ST)