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| Africa Horn |
| Sudan's Bashir faces 9 rivals in April 11 poll |
| 2010-01-31 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Nine candidates have been approved to run against President Omar al-Bashir in Sudan's April 11 polls, the electoral commission said on Saturday after rejecting three hopefuls. The presidential vote is to be held in conjunction with parliamentary and regional elections as part of the troubled African country's first multi-party ballot since 1986. "We announce today the primary list of candidates for the presidency. We received 13 requests (and) 10 of them were accepted," Al-Hadi Mohammed Ahmed of the electoral commission told reporters. The candidates include former premier and Islamist Umma party leader Sadiq al-Mahdi, who was ousted in 1989 in a military coup led by Bashir, and Yasser Arman of the southern ex-rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement. The remaining candidates belong to smaller parties, and two are independents. The nominees who were turned down--including Fatima Ahmed Abdelmahmud, the first woman to attempt to run for the presidency -- have a week to contest the commission's decision. |
| Posted by:Fred |