Bashir aide says election boycott campaign will fail
February 22, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese presidential assistant and ruling National Congress Party (NCP) deputy chairman Ibrahim Ghandour ridiculed the elections boycott campaign initiated by opposition forces and described its proponents as “dreamers”.
“We say to those who have started the ‘Leave’ campaign, shame [on you],” Ghandour said.
“From the Gezira state we send a message that we are with the president and behind him are men, women, people and the nation….after a few days we go to the elections and we want to send a message to the world that the people of Sudan are united around the leadership and took their decision from inside Sudan,” he added.
Ghandour stressed that those who dream of the slogan “Leave” and “Boycott” will dream forever and said they will wait a long time as guns are no longer a means of pressure.
He urged the Gezira state residents to rally next Thursday in support of president Omer Hassan al-Bashir.
The NCP official said that some circles are seeking to thwart the electoral process with a view of leaving Sudan without a legitimate government.
He boasted that prior to the 1989 coup that brought president Omer Hassan al-Bashir to power, there were severe shortages in basic commodities and non-stop strikes by unions.
Ghandour recalled statements by pre-coup Prime Minister al-Sadiq al-Mahdi who is also leader of National Umma Party (NUP) in which he said that he was beaten by the black market, trade unions, and the press.
But he acknowledged that the government is still falling short from the people’s expectations.
“We still live in hardship because we did not build the country we dream of, but we can say to anyone who wants to challenge that we can look at the record in the areas of roads, education, health and production,” Ghandour said.
Major opposition parties such as the NUP and the Popular Congress Party (PCP) and sections of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said they will not participate in the elections asserting that ruling party holds absolute control over power and refuses to make any compromise to end the country’s ongoing civil war and allow public liberties.
The NCP rejects calls by Sudanese political forces to postpone the general elections scheduled for April until after the national dialogue and formation of a transitional government, saying it is a constitutional requirement that must be met.
Bashir has challenged opposition parties to participate in the elections and pledged that they will be free, fair and transparent.
There appears to be little interest in the elections among ordinary citizens with many believing that its results are a foregone deal in favor of the NCP.
(ST)