KHARTOUM: One of Sudan’s main opposition parties will boycott elections set for April because a lack of democracy will not allow a fair vote, a senior party official said yesterday, diminishing the credibility of the ballot.
The Popular Congress Party, led by veteran Islamist Hassan Al Turabi, is one of only a few notable opposition groups in Sudan who all accuse President Omar Al Bashir of manoeuvring to cling to power despite a promise to step down in 2015.
Bashir, 70, has ruled since a 1989 military coup and has weathered rebellions, economic crisis and an indictment by the International Criminal Court on suspicion of having orchestrated war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region.
“We are boycotting because there is no favourable climate for elections, there are wars in the country and there are no freedoms,” Kamal Omar, the PCP’s political secretary, said by telephone.
Opposition parties accuse Bashir of continuing to jail dissidents, censoring the media and closing newspapers, making a mockery of his stated commitment to a national dialogue. The opposition also boycotted the last presidential election in April 2010, citing fraud.Reuters
