Divisions deepen among opposition dialogue parties over Sudan elections
December 29, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Divisions are deepening between the Sudanese opposition parties participating in the national dialogue process following a recent decision to exclude two members from their panel.
The decision concerns the chairman of the federal Truth Party Fadel Alsid Shuaib who was also the co-spokesperson of the 7+7 committee, for his decision to participate in the general elections announced for April 2015. It also affects Bushara Juma Arror of the Justice Party, which decided to participate in the government of North Darfur state.
However Aror and Shuaib swiftly rejected to the decision, maintaining that the opposition parties are not qualified to exclude them from the 7+7 committee.
In a press conference held on Monday, they further said they intend to take part in a meeting the dialogue mechanism will hold with the president Omer al-Bashir on Tuesday evening.
They stressed that only the assembly general of the national dialogue and the chairman of the dialogue body, al-Bashir, can relieve them.
“We do not recognise any decision by any party other than the dialogue’s general assembly and the chairman of the mechanism ,” Shuaid said.
The government refused the opposition’ demand to postpone the elections but pledged to involve the parties that participate in the dialogue in a national unity government to implement the outcome of the internal political process .
The deputy leader of the opposition Reform Now Movement (RNM) , Hassan Osman Riziq, told Sudan Tribune that their decision to dismiss Shuaib and Aror is valid.
“The opposition group, which the two men contest its legitimacy, had chosen Arror to replace the National Umma Party in the dialogue mechanism,” he said.
“It is not the general assembly or the chairman of the mechanism, but only us,” he emphasised.
He further warned that if the two sacked men are authorised to attend the meeting with the president they will boycott it.
“But they can take part in the meeting as government parties” he said however.
Riziq said they will go to the meeting to request that the government implements its commitments in the dialogue roadmap “So that we can continue in the national dialogue, or we will have another opinion.”
The opposition parties are supposed to discuss with al-Bashir the beginning of the national dialogue process, and the implementation of the confidence building measures they agreed in the dialogue framework endorsed on 9 August 2014.
The national dialogue process was initiated by president al-Bashir in January 2014 to end armed conflicts and achieve democratic reforms. Also It came after calls for reforms within the ruling National Congress Party.
(ST)