Opposition parties convene next week to decide on elections participation
January 5, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese opposition parties will meet next week to decide on whether they should take part in the upcoming elections scheduled for April 2010 or boycott it as they have threatened September.
The meeting will be comprised of the political powers which took part in the Juba conference in September of last year including the Umma National Party, Umma Reform and Renewal Party (URRP), Sudanese Communist Party (SCP), Popular Congress Part (PCP), and other smaller parties.
It is not clear if the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) which hosted the Juba conference will take part in next week’s meeting. The ex-Southern rebel group is the junior partner in the government of national unity.
Opposition parties have frequently complained that the political environment is restrictive in terms of press censorship, freedom of political assembly and intimidation by security services.
The Sudanese authorities prevented opposition parties twice last month from staging protests and arrested a handful of its leaders including SPLM figures.
At the Juba conference the twenty political parties declared their intention to boycott the elections unless the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) implements democratic reforms by amending several laws including 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.
However, opposition parties now appear leaning towards taking part in the elections despite the objections it raised and criticisms it directed towards the National Elections Commission (NEC).
Last week the PCP and URRP nominated Abdullah Nhial Deng and Mubarak Al-Fadil respectively as their presidential candidates. Other parties are expected to follow suit in the coming days including the SPLM.
The Umma party led by former Prime Minister Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi issued a statement outlining the options with regard to the elections saying that there are six prerequisites for the polls; ensuring public freedoms, the commitment of state institutions and civil order not to use its influence, the media’s commitment to a national approach away from taking sides to any party, ensure international and internal control at all levels, an independent judicial mechanism of accountability in relation to corrupt practices and deterring it.
Al-Mahdi stated that his party is faced with three choices, boycotting it which according to him would make it a “fiasco” with no democratic value, taking part in the elections under any circumstances or with minimum conditions but warned that this would give “false” legitimacy that would the benefit those who are defrauding it in a clear reference to the NCP.
He also hinted that the Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir could be protected from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC) through a “reform package” that would balance justice and accountability which could be agreeable domestically then presented to the UN Security Council (UNSC).
The Arab, African and Islamic countries have demanded that the UNSC invoke its powers under Article 16 of the ICC statute to defer the warrant against Bashir for the sake of preserving peace but Western countries on the council resisted this move.
Al-Mahdi said that such a solution would require the NCP to make concessions but added that the ruling party has no interest in fulfilling.
A senior opposition official told Sudan Tribune who asked not to be named that the former prime minister believes that the Sudanese president should not run for re-election in return for immunity from ICC.
(ST)
Mr Famous Big_Logic_Boy
Opposition parties convene next week to decide on elections participation
SPLA should not confuse themselves by accepting Arab parties to come and air their unwanted words in Juba. It is time to get serious and prepare for the election, we don’t have time anymore to sit and listen to NCP partners. Even those parties are suppose to negotiate with NCP who is their partners not SPLA. This is another strategy that will push SPLA behind from its process of getting further into advance preparation. I stated that those parties are sponsor by NCP in order to spy SPLA from its separation and self determination progress.
New Year Message
Time for tribalism has gone, 2010 is not a time to generalise tribe or community instead of one person. It is time to focus on the real issue far from tribal criticism, political party criticism, leaders criticism, and very far from abuses or insults. We should also debate far from abuses of any single commenter on ST forum, to myself I want to be a man of tolerance, peace, responsbility, respect, forgiveness, love, unity and courage . It is time to get serious and work for the betterment of my nation South Sudan (New name).
I didn’t change myself because of pressure or whatsoever, it could be my 2010 resolution. For now lets start new year with fresh mind and positive ideas that will improvement the managment of South Sudan, childish comments must be ignored. Some individual comment aggressively when they are defeated in debate, this spirit must be abandon. We are here to play a game ie you get defeated or you defeat others defends on the article and the extend of your debate, but don’t insult people. This is my new year message to ST viewers, contributors, pseuds, readers and editor
Detective
Opposition parties convene next week to decide on elections participation
Whatvever the plan for the northen polical parties, SPLM should make themselves a distance, they want to rely on SPLM cuz they got no millitary equipments and this is not what we want. we are not looking into war.