No rescheduling for elections, Sudan president says

February 25, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president and head of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) Omer Hassan Al-Bashir emphasized today that elections will be held on time despite mounting calls by opposition groups that they be postponed.

Bashir, who was speaking at a rally of the female members of the Umma Party for Reform and Development (URRD) in Omdurman, said that the Sudanese people have the right to choose its representative through the polls.

He said that the western region of Darfur is now secure and stable which eliminates any justification for postponing the elections, noting that the 1986 polls were not delayed due to the war in the South.

The president’s remarks puts cold shower on demands by Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) chief Khalil Ibrahim to push the elections forward so that Darfur can participate fully.

On Tuesday, the powerful rebel group signed a framework agreement with the Sudanese government in Qatar that provides for a temporary ceasefire between the two sides among other things.

At a press conference in Doha, JEM leader said that most people in Darfur and Kordofan are displaced with no interest to take part in elections. He said that there needs to be time for peace to be realized and refugees can return home after which participation in elections can be evaluated.

Ibrahim stressed that holding the general elections in April will exclude 4 million people making it meaningless for the Darfur population.

On Wednesday, the Islamist opposition figure and leader of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) Hassan Al-Turabi called for the formation of an interim government even if headed by Bashir to prepare the country for the polls.

Turabi added that should a final peace agreement be signed in Darfur then that necessarily requires elections be delayed else it wouldn’t be right to have a political system that does not the people of that region.

Earlier this week the former Prime Minister Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi and head of the Umma party said that it is preferable to push elections in order to give time for peace to be achieved in Darfur.

National Elections Committee (NEC) officials have so far given no indication that they are open to rescheduling.

Observers say that if elections are delayed then the earliest they can be held is in November following the rainy season in large parts of Sudan. However any such move will cast doubts over the 2011 self determination referendum in the South of the country.

The SPLM has vehemently refused any move to postpone the referendum process and many think tank groups fear a return to civil war should the self determination process be disrupted. However, many post-referendum issues have yet to be addressed particularly nationality, national debt, water agreement with the border demarcation process well behind schedule.

(ST)