Omdurman, Sudan--Battling division and government repression, Sudan's opposition has launched a sit-in against elections expected to extend President Omar al-Bashir's rule, but it has been met with almost as much indifference as the vote itself.
Only about 80 people gathered at the headquarters of the country's oldest political party, the Umma, in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman as night fell on the first day of the elections on Monday.
"What you see now is a number we didn't expect," said Hassan Imam Hassan, the Umma's acting secretary general, saying he had hoped for a better turnout.
Behind him, mostly elderly opposition figures sat in the garden of the elegant colonial-era villa, listening to speeches denouncing Bashir and the three-day vote for the presidency and state and national parliaments.
"These elections will lead to nothing. It is a worthless election, false and they cost a lot," Hassan said, dressed in traditional Sudanese robes.
The Umma and other parties, rebels and civil society groups came together in December to form the alliance, calling on Bashir to stand down and for the elections to be postponed.
They say Bashir -- indicted by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Darfur -- has run the country into the ground.
Sudan Call plans to hold the sit-in at least until results are announced in late April.
AFP
