Sudan’s NCP likely to nominate Bashir for new term: official

August 14, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – A leading ruling National Congress Party (NCP) official said that the party is leaning towards re-nominating president Omer Hassan al-Bashir for a new term in the April 2015 elections.

Mohamed al-Hassan al-Amin, member of NCP leadership council, said that most of the party grassroots conferences recommended picking Bashir as their candidate.

“All indicators point towards having Bashir as the party candidate,” al-Amin said.

The NCP official also emphasised that internal and external factors require the retention of Bashir in power, pointing to what he called threats and the international war on political Islam of which Sudan is considered to be adopting as well as other political commitments.

In recent years, Bashir has asserted that he will not run for a new term and went on to say that he spent enough time in power and that the country needs new faces.

But later he backtracked by saying it is up to the party’s institutions to decide on the 2015 presidential candidate and that he will respect their decision.

Bashir who ruled the country since staging a military coup in 1989, faces an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) which has restricted his international travels and his meetings with western officials.

His health has also came into question recently after undergoing two throat surgeries in 2012 to remove a tumor and two knee replacement surgeries this year.

The 70 years old leader has also recently started delegating more of his domestic and international appearances to his 1st VP Bakri Hassan Saleh.

In a related issue, al-Amin rejected demands made by the National Umma Party ( NUP) and Popular Congress Party ( PCP) to postpone elections.

The National Elections Commission ( NEC) said the two parties made the requests on the grounds that they need to prepare financially for the polls.

But al-Amin said they will not allow for a constitutional vacuum and stressed that they will not form a transitional government as opposition demands.

(ST)