Arab columnists criticize the re-election of Sudan’s Bashir

April 26, 2010 (WASHINGTON) — Several Arab columnists described the re-election of Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir as a continuation of a tradition in the region for Arab rulers to remain in power for extended period of time with some going as far as saying that Sudan will suffer as a result of that.

Bashir was proclaimed the winner of the country’s first elections in 24 years despite an arrest warrant for him issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Darfur. He secured 68% of the 10 million votes that participated in the elections marred by logistical issues and boycott by several opposition parties.

“Congratulations to the great people of Sudan for his new legitimate president who we expect him to last another century maybe so long that he was able to continue as a president lacking popular legitimacy for more than twenty years,” the Algerian columnist Khidair BuGayla wrote in the London based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper.

“No one in the world no matter how naive he is would have doubted that president Bashir would be the winner in the recent presidential elections in Sudan” he added.

Opposition parties in Sudan including those which opted to participate and not boycott accused the ruling National Congress Party led by Bashir of orchestrating a widespread fraud and vote rigging campaign. One unverified video on YouTube showed electoral workers apparently in East Sudan filling out the ballots and sticking them inside the boxes.

Mohamed Krishan a famous Tunisian journalist working at the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera TV in Qatar said that Bashir would be mistaken if he thinks his reelection would protect him from the ICC prosecution.

“It was thought by many that the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has been spared only to be put behind bars despite being a fugitive for fifteen years in disguise with a long white beard and a false name, and the turn will not be too late for the arrest of his companion in crime, Ratko Mladic” Krishan wrote today.

“Bashir will not be an exception ever, and it will be of no good to him waving the stick as always in the face of people’s in a move that is highly symbolic, even if it is familiar with the military” he added.

The deputy editor in chief of the Saudi owned Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Osman Mirghani agreed with Krishan saying that signals from Washington and the US indicate that they will not Bashir off the hook with the ICC warrant because he has been re-elected.

Mirghani said that the fact that the six million voters who did not show up to vote along with those who voted for other presidential candidates “pose serious problems to those who talk about electoral legitimacy from the announced results”.

“The elections with its outcome clear before the eyes deepened divisions in the north and enhanced opportunities for secession in the South” he added.

A peace deal signed in 2005 between the southern rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the government of Khartoum to end Africa’s longest running war, provided for the competitive polls and for the southern referendum on independence.

Now that elections are over, southern Sudanese will begin to focus efforts on their main goal, the referendum. Most observers expect an overwhelming vote for secession by Southerners.

“One sad thing in all this story that the whole of Sudan has become a hostage to one man. It does not matter that [Sudan] divided or broken up, it is important that Bashir remains president… it is truly a tragedy” Krishan concluded his Op-ed.

(ST)