Speculations on Bashir’s succession are “personal views”, says NCP official
March 31, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) affirmed that the party’s next general convention will pick its candidate for the upcoming elections and decide on a successor to president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, deeming all other statements and remarks “personal views”.
Yousif stressed that his party’s institutions are capable of handling this issue, adding that this issue is not among the party’s priorities for the time being.
Last month the veteran Sudanese leader reiterated his past intentions to step down at the end of his term in 2015 saying that Sudan is in need of “fresh blood”.
But several senior officials in the NCP acknowledged the existence of conflicting views among party leaders and members with regard to Al-Bashir’s succession.
In an interview with Al-Intibaha newspaper, the NCP’s Secretary of Thought and Culture, Amin Hassan Omer stressed that some NCP members fear change and prefer the status quo because it is at least “safe” for them.
The head of NCP parliamentary bloc Ghazi Salah al-Deen al-Attabani said that the 2005 constitution states that the president can only stay for a maximum of two terms , stressing that stability of the regime is contingent upon adhering to the law of the land.
In a separate issue, Yousif warned of difficulties facing implementation of the cooperation agreements between Sudan and South Sudan, saying that the intended visit of Bashir to Juba would render huge boost to implementation, cautioning that the “non-harboring and supporting” of rebels agreement would enhance prospects of implementation success.
In September of last year, both Sudan and South Sudan signed a series of cooperation agreements, which covered oil, citizenship rights, security issues, banking, and border trade among others.
Last month, the two countries signed an implementation matrix for these cooperation agreements.
(ST)