Bashir abruptly sacks seven governors amid reports of pre-elections dissent

January 18, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir issued a decree on Sunday night removing seven of the fifteen governors in the Northern states amid growing reports of dissatisfaction within the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) ahead of the general elections that is three months away.

The governors of states of North Kordofan, Northern (Al-Shamaliya), River Nile, Kassala, South Darfur, Al-Gadarif and White Nile were impacted by the decision which did not provide reasons except to say that it was made in accordance with articles (58) and (184) of the interim constitution.

The London based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoting “informed sources” said that the NCP leadership deliberated on disputes that emerged among the party’s figures recently as a result of stiff competition over being nomination for governor tickets.

The sources said that the NCP leaders believed that the contest took a “tribal and sectarian” shape with some figures engaging in vote buying which would jeopardize the elections campaign for the ruling party and weaken its chances for winning in the governor race in the different states.

The newspaper further reported that several figures have expressed grudges and discontent with the party picks for nominees and the criteria used to determine them. In one instance the NCP bypassed Ahmed Hamed to run for governor position in Kassala state despite having obtained the highest number of votes within the party.

Hamed has recently threatened to run independently prompting Bashir to summon him to Khartoum and convince him not to do so.

Last week the powerful Sudanese presidential assistant and the NCP deputy chief Nafie Ali Nafi issued a stern warning to his party members saying that anyone who attempts to dissent and object to the nominations “will suffer and will have problems with us [NCP]”.

“There is no one too big in the party,” Nafi said adding that the NCP “will not break even if dissenters lead it to defeat”.

“Those who feel injustice will be given [a tablet] of Panadol” he said sarcastically.

Most observers in Sudan say that the NCP will likely win the elections with a comfortable majority owing to its control over the government bodies and its resources including media and security services.

(ST)