Sudan’s NCP dismisses talk of national government with parties that boycotted elections
April 18, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) held a meeting today headed by president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir to review the outcome of the general elections which came to a conclusion last Thursday with all but certain landslide victory for the party in North Sudan.
Several heavyweight Northern opposition parties such as the Umma Party and Sudan Communist Party (SCP) boycotted the elections claiming it cannot be held in a fair and free manner. They accused the NCP of using fraud and utilizing state resources to win the polls.
The Northern sector of the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) has also boycotted all elections in the North for the same reason dealing severe credibility blow to the country’s first multi-party general elections since 1986.
This week, NCP senior figure Ghazi Salah Al-Deen Al-Attabani suggested that his party will invite the opposition to join the government ranks even those who boycotted.
“We are facing important decisions like self-determination in the south and would like to garner as much support and as much consensus as we can” Al-Attabani added.
The Sudanese presidential assistant Nafie Ali Nafie later qualified these remarks saying these parties must recognize the results for them to take advantage of this offer saying otherwise it would be “illogical”.
But the Sudanese president dismissed his aides’ offer saying that the post-election government will consist primarily of those parties that did not boycott and newspaper questioned the wisdom of elections and competition if all parties were going to be part of the national government without regard to the outcome produced by the election.
He said that it is best for the country to have a strong government that enjoys a degree of coherence and harmony that reflects parliamentary and also to have a strong and responsible opposition exercising its oversight role on government performance.
At the meeting today Nafie has pointed out that the upcoming government would be composed of those who are capable of carrying out their duties adding that it is not necessary that this would be a one party government or two party government but said that those who boycotted the elections will not be part of the executive branch.
Nafie accused opposition parties which took part in the elections of backpedaling after losing and making claims of fraud afterwards describing it as a setback “which was not a surprise as the opposition has originally sought to inhibit the organization of the elections in the first place”.
He said the outcome of the elections have produced a new political map in the country and shows that the people in Sudan have made up their mind and left behind their back many political parties when they overwhelmingly voted for the NCP “as it become the cradle for confidence to protect and defend the homeland”.
Yesterday the Popular Congress Party (PCP) and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) blasted the conduct of the elections and announcing their non-recognition of its outcome.
“I reject the results of the elections and I will not recognize them,” Hatim al-Sir, the DUP candidate who ran against Bashir in the presidential race, said. “The result does not reflect real participation.”
The PCP leader Al-Turabi appearing visibly angry at a press conference today that his party will refuse to recognize the results even if they are shown to win in some constituencies and accused the National Elections Commission (NEC) of poorly managing the polls.
“The voting and the counting process are fraudulent. We will take the matter to court and if the judges does not rule in our favor, we may have to use other alternatives than the ballot boxes,” said Turabi at the PCP headquarters in the Riyadh district of the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
“We are still gathering information in several regions of the country before talking with our local officials and other parties,” he added.
The PCP leader also brushed aside the offer by the NCP to join the future government.
Sudan’s presidential candidate Abdel-Aziz Khalid and leader of Sudan Alliance Movement today called on the government to scrap the results of the elections and said he will not be part of any cabinet.
Both European Union and Carter Center observers have said last week’s elections did not meet international standards, but stopped short of echoing opposition allegations of widespread rigging.
(ST)
Mabor Yiel
Sudan’s NCP dismisses talk of national government with parties that boycotted elections
Bashir was right to say that he will not accomodate any political party who boycotted the Elections. It is a kind of toppling a ruling party from Power otherwise it will also be applied to Southern Politicians who contested as Independant Candidates. There is no room for An Idependant Candidates and other Political Parties who failed in the Sudan National elections.
By: Mabor…!
babadit
Sudan’s NCP dismisses talk of national government with parties that boycotted elections
Look at the poor Northern Arabs parties, you did not pull out of the Election which was already rigged and now you tells us that you wouldn’t respect the outcome of the election ? why now you traitors of southerners?
go and joins him that was what you want to see
Thyinka
Sudan’s NCP dismisses talk of national government with parties that boycotted elections
Omar seem to have cleverly execute his strategy of consolidating his grip on power and there is even a possibility that SPLM is going to be edged out of the next national government. They will only be confined to Southern Sudan where they will basically be rendered ineffective while policies are being manipulated in Khartoum.
SPLM may be handed some NCP handpicked ministries and I am not sure they will have any political clout in Khartoum anymore than they did before the election. In fact, NCP may not accommodate them since they partly boycott the election in the North and may end up as opposition rather than partners in the government. As far fetch as it may seem, it is still possible but let hope that won’t be the case for the sake of the implementation of the remaining part of the CPA.