Turabi’s party to boycott Sudan’s 2015 elections

October 13, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – An opposition party participating in the national dialogue process announced on Monday it would boycott the general elections casting doubts on the credulity of the next year electoral process.

The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) refuses calls by the opposition parties to postpone the election and to form a national unity government to implement the outcome of a dialogue process aiming to end war and agree on constitutional reforms.

Last May following the detention of its leader Sadiq al-Mahdi, National Umma Party (NUP) suspended it participation in the internal process deploring the lack of freedoms and urging to include rebels in the process.

The Popular Congress Party (PCP), led by Hassan al-Turabi, has formulated the same demands but remained committed to the process hoping that the NCP would shift its initial positions and accept the implement the confidence building measures including the postponement of elections.

The PCP’s political secretary Kamal Omer told Reuters that his party would not participate in the election and criticised publically, for the first time, the organisation of the election before the national dialogue.

“We are boycotting because there is no favourable climate for elections, there are wars in the country and there are no freedoms,” Omer said.

“To hold elections without a national agreement makes the dialogue absurd,” he added.

Sources within Turabi’s party said recently alarmed by leaked reports about the NCP electoral strategy revealing the NCP determination to hold the elections which would abort the dialogue process.

The PCP, which also calls for an Islamic state in Sudan, thought that the national dialogue would also pave the way for a large coalition between the Islamist parties in order to achieve this project democratically.

Turabi’s party also believes that the political status quo in the country will lead to the capture of power by the military wing of the regime and eventually weakening the Islamic trend in the ruling party.

The Sudanese opposition PCP says they support the national dialogue because it would allow them to catch up developments among the Islamic political groups registered by Tunisian Ennahda movement and Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party.

(ST)