Sudan’s NCP rejects calls for IGAD intervention in CPA wrangles

December 2, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan’s dominant party has rejected call by its junior partner to bring the ongoing difference between them on the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)

SPLM Secretary General Pagan Amum told reporters on Tuesday following a meeting with Sudanese opposition parties members of Juba conference that they might lodge a complaint to the IGAD, which mediated the CPA talks, on NCP slow implementation of the remaining issues related to the democratic transition and the referendum.

“This is totally unacceptable for us to because the Agreement is very clear and has mechanisms for arbitration when there is a dispute,” said Ibrahim Gandour, head of the NCP political secretariat on Wednesday.

He also downplayed Pagan’s statement about the deadlock at the joint political committee on the referendum issue describing the remarks of the SPLM official as “talk for media consumption”. He further confirmed the continuity of dialogue between the two parties to the peace agreement.

Southern Sudan, according to the CPA, signed between the NCP and SPLM on January 9 2005, in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, is scheduled to vote at 2011 referendum, to either remain part of united Sudan or create an independent country in the South.

But talks on referenda bill between the two peace partners are stalled over the issue of voter turnout. Two weeks ago the First Vice President Salva Kiir Mayadrit said in Paris that negotiations with NCP are on the range of 55%-60%, he further added that SPLM would accept a 55% voter turnout in the 2011 referendum.

Also with regard to the democratic reforms, the Juba conference parties are set to take a joint position next week on their participation in April 2010 elections. The Sudanese parliament did not pass a number of laws before the end of November as they requested on the National Security Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, the Trade Unions Act, the law of immunities, the Law of Personal Status, Press and Publications Law, the Laws of Public Order.

Yesterday they announced they would hold a demonstration on Saturday to protest over this delay.

But Gandour called on the parties who are part of the national unity government – SPLM – to get back to the parliament in order to participate in the discussion related to these laws and to pass it.

The SPLM is boycotting the latest session of the Sudanese parliament since October 19 asking to schedule a parliamentary schedule for the remaining laws.

The SPLM in the past said may times it would ask the IGAD intervention in the slow implementation of a peace deal that it had formally sponsored but was in fact mediated by the US administration.

(ST)