| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa Horn |
| Sudan election campaign wraps up amid boycott |
| 2010-04-10 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his remaining challengers addressed supporters on Friday on the last day of campaigning for elections that have been overshadowed by opposition boycotts. Bashir wrapped up his appeal for votes in Sudan's first multi-party election since before he seized power in a 1989 coup with a speech in the northern town of Dalgo. The Sudanese President assured supporters that promises of development will not fade after his electoral campaign, vowing to extend basic services across the whole country, while Sudan southerners claim health and education, not elections are their concerns. "We will build roads to Geneina (in west Sudan), we have built a road that reaches the border of Ethiopia (in the east)... We are not focused on just one region, we are working for balanced development," Bashir told a rally in Dalgo, north Sudan. Candidates were making a final push on the last day of campaigning ahead of Sudan's first multi-party election since 1986 which starts on Sunday, when the electorate will vote for president as well as legislative and local representatives. Landmark elections The 66-year-old Bashir is counting on the landmark elections to redeem his stature after an arrest warrant was issued against him by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, which has been gripped by a seven-year civil war. Bashir's resources have allowed him to stage rallies in all corners of the country, eclipsing the efforts of his challengers, two of whom have withdrawn from the race amid accusations that he has diverted state funds to his campaign. The southern former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement said it was also withdrawing from simultaneous parliamentary and state elections in all northern states except the disputed Blue Nile and south Kordofan districts, after its candidate, Yasser Arman, pulled out of the presidential race. Former prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, who won Sudan's last multi-party election in 1986, has also withdrawn, leaving Hatim al-Sir, of the other main historical northern faction -- the Democratic Unionist Party -- as Bashir's sole remaining challenger of any weight. Sudanese security forces deployed in strength ahead of Sunday's first day of polling, as did international peacekeepers deployed in both Darfur and the south. More than 100,000 police officers are to be on duty over the election period, a security official said, as embassies in Khartoum advised nationals to adopt "precautionary measures," like stocking up on food and fuel. The 66-year-old Bashir is counting on the landmark elections to reassert his authority after the ICC arrest warrant against him, the first ever against a sitting head of state. His National Congress controls 52 percent of the 450 seats in the outgoing National Assembly under a power-sharing agreement with the southern former rebels and the northern opposition. Beshir on Thursday promised an exemplary election. |
| Posted by:Fred |