Sudan’s Bashir will probably seek a new term, opposition leader says

April 15, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The secretary-general of the opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP), Hassan Abdullah al-Turabi, said that Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir will likely run in the upcoming elections despite his assertions to the contrary.

But Turabi dismissed the president’s remarks, saying that Bashir will seek a new presidential term either by amending the constitution or responding to demonstrations by his party loyalists urging him to backtrack on his decision to step down.

Several senior officials, including Bashir’s two vice presidents, suggested that a decision on the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) presidential candidate rests with the party and not Bashir.

Speaking on Tuesday on the occasion of the release of his party’s detainees, Turabi scoffed at the idea of any president in a third world country abandoning his post voluntarily.

“We always hear rulers in Africa say that they are ascetic in retaining their posts, however, they end up running again”, he said.

“[Even] if the president is sincere about his decision to step down, his party members could go in demonstrations to discourage him from his decision”, Turabi added.

The PCP leader stressed that the opposition won’t participate in the next general elections slated for 2015 unless the current regime is dismantled, warning that the country is being torn apart,

“We won’t run in elections which allows them [NCP] to win 90% of the seats in the parliament”, Turabi said.

The Islamist figure further said that the government’s recent call for dialogue reflects its weakness, emphasising that dialogue can only be conducted between equal parties.

Turabi also said that he sees change coming to Sudan but stressed that it will not occur without sacrifices.

Earlier this month, Bashir said that his government is committed to national dialogue with all groups, regardless of their political affiliations in order to resolve outstanding issues and pave the way for an agreement on the new constitution.

(ST)