Divisions deepen among opposition dialogue parties over Sudan elections

[Elisabeth Janaina]

Divisions deepen among opposition dialogue parties over Sudan elections

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December 29, 2014 (KHARTOUM) - Divisions are deepening between the
Sudanese opposition parties participating in the national dialogue
process following a recent decision to exclude two members from their
panel.

JPEG - 18.9 kb
Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir (C-R) greets supporters while Hassan
al-Turabi (L) smiles and Ghazi Salah Al-Deen Attabani stands besides
him after his speech calling for national dialogue on 27 January 2014
(Photo: AFP/Ebrahim Hamid)

On Sunday, the opposition parties decided to sack two parties from the
team of seven members representing them in the national dialogue
mechanism known as 7+7 committee.

The decision concerns the chairman of the federal Truth Party Fadel
Alsid Shuaib who was also the co-spokesperson of the 7+7 committee,
for his decision to participate in the general elections announced for
April 2015. It also affects Bushara Juma Arror of the Justice Party,
which decided to participate in the government of North Darfur state.

However Aror and Shuaib swiftly rejected to the decision, maintaining
that the opposition parties are not qualified to exclude them from the
7+7 committee.

In a press conference held on Monday, they further said they intend to
take part in a meeting the dialogue mechanism will hold with the
president Omer al-Bashir on Tuesday evening.

They stressed that only the assembly general of the national dialogue
and the chairman of the dialogue body, al-Bashir, can relieve them.

“We do not recognise any decision by any party other than the
dialogue’s general assembly and the chairman of the mechanism ,”
Shuaid said.

The government refused the opposition’ demand to postpone the
elections but pledged to involve the parties that participate in the
dialogue in a national unity government to implement the outcome of
the internal political process .

The deputy leader of the opposition Reform Now Movement (RNM) , Hassan
Osman Riziq, told Sudan Tribune that their decision to dismiss Shuaib
and Aror is valid.

“The opposition group, which the two men contest its legitimacy, had
chosen Arror to replace the National Umma Party in the dialogue
mechanism,” he said.

“It is not the general assembly or the chairman of the mechanism, but
only us,” he emphasised.

He further warned that if the two sacked men are authorised to attend
the meeting with the president they will boycott it.

“But they can take part in the meeting as government parties” he said however.

Riziq said they will go to the meeting to request that the government
implements its commitments in the dialogue roadmap “So that we can
continue in the national dialogue, or we will have another opinion."

The opposition parties are supposed to discuss with al-Bashir the
beginning of the national dialogue process, and the implementation of
the confidence building measures they agreed in the dialogue framework
endorsed on 9 August 2014.

The national dialogue process was initiated by president al-Bashir in
January 2014 to end armed conflicts and achieve democratic reforms.
Also It came after calls for reforms within the ruling National
Congress Party.

(ST)