The police in Khartoum have refused to issue a permit for a political forum by the Reform Now Movement (RNM), scheduled to take place in Burri district next Monday.
In a statement on Tuesday, the RNM, led by Ghazi Salaheldin El Atabani, reported that the police refused to grant the permission “for security reasons”.
El Atabani and Deputy-Chairman Hassan Rizig were supposed to address the forum.
President Omar Al Bashir has criticised the Rizeigat and Ma'aliya for continuing their armed conflict in East Darfur, during a pre-election rally on Thursday. Meanwhile, a meeting of anti-election supporters was stormed by the security service in Kassala state, and opposition parties consider holding a popular uprising in the country.
While addressing a mass rally in the capital of East Darfur, President Al Bashir criticised the ongoing tribal conflict between the Rizeigat and Ma'aliya. He stressed that the carrying of arms should be confined to the Sudan Armed Forces.
The Berlin Declaration will come to an end if the Sudanese general election, scheduled to start on 13 April, are not suspended.
In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Malik Agar, chairman of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) and head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) explained that one of the conditions for participating in the Addis Ababa preparatory meetings for a broad national dialogue is the postponement of the upcoming election.
On Saturday, security agents briefly detained about 40 Sudanese opposition leaders who were to attend a public forum in El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan. Also on Saturday, Yasir Arman, secretary-general of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) stated that the recent attacks on government positions in South Kordofan have no relation to the peaceful campaign of the Sudan Appeal forces who aim to boycott the general election, scheduled for April this year.
The National Congress Party (NCP) has formally welcomed the Berlin Declaration signed by the opposition forces in the German capital on 27 February.
After expressing its reservations last week, the Sudanese government issued a statement, saying that “after studying the document, the party’s political sector extends its thanks and appreciation to the German government. [..] The NCP stresses its firm stance on the national dialogue which includes everyone without exception in order to reach a consensus which supports security, stability, and peaceful exchange of power in Sudan.”
The opposition groups will stop their preparations for participating in the National Dialogue of Sudan if the country holds its general elections on 13 April. The preparatory meeting they are planning to hold with the ruling party aims to put these elections on hold.
Yasir Saeed Arman, the Secretary-General of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and Foreign Relations Secretary of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) stated that he considers the holding of the upcoming elections an end for the recently signed Berlin Declaration.
Sudan’s National Election Commission (NEC) disclosed that 102 candidates had withdrawn from the general elections scheduled for April.
Last January, the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) warned that members who seek to run independently in the country’s upcoming general elections will be held accountable.
The Sudanese government rejected once again calls by the political and armed opposition groups to postpone the general elections and reiterated determination to move forwards and hold it next April.
Politicians, lawyers, and civil society activists rallied in front of the Khartoum North criminal court this morning, in support of Faroug Abu Eisa, head of the National Consensus Forces (NCF), and Dr Amin Mekki Madani, chairman of the Civil Society Initiative (CSI), who made their second court appearance today.
The Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir offered to release opposition figures detained by authorities since last December in return for them making a formal apology in which they acknowledge that they violated Sudan’s criminal law.
On Monday, the founding conference of the National Liberation and Justice Party, led by Dr El Tijani Sese, was launched at the Friendship Hall in Khartoum.
Sese, who is also chairman of the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), said in his opening speech that “today, we celebrate the birth of a new political entity, named the National Liberation and Justice Party. Besides constituting a valuable addition to democracy, it will add flavour to a sound party life in the country”.
Sudan’s National Elections Commission (NEC) has announced that polling in the coming elections will take place from 13 to 15 April while vote counting will begin on 16 April.
Mukhtar al-Asam, NEC chief said in a meeting with representatives of political parties participating in the elections and independent candidates on Sunday there are 7133 polling stations across the country besides 11.000 election committees.
Almost all of the 21 Sudanese opposition parties that were participating in a year-long national dialogue will pull out of the talks, as well as upcoming elections, in the latest sign of deteriorating reconciliation efforts, party representatives have said.
Eighteen opposition parties will not attend a national dialogue meeting with the president on Wednesday, citing worsening political and press freedoms, a statement from the parties said on Tuesday.
The Sudanese National Election Commission (NEC) has officially cleared 15 candidates to contest next April's presidential and general elections.
The 14 candidates, who will contest against incumbent President Omar Al-Bashir, are little known except Prof. Fatima Abdul Mahmud.
Mahmud, who in the 2010 elections stood as candidate for the Sudanese Socialist Union, a party formed by late president Ja'afar Mohamed Nimeiri, 1969-1985, is herself a veteran politician.
The Sudanese political parties participating in the government-led national dialogue process have harshly criticised the government and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) holding the latter responsible for the delay of the dialogue process.
Bashir launched a national dialogue initiative last January in which he urged opposition parties and rebels alike to join the dialogue table to discuss all the pressing issues.
Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir underscored that his country is in dire need of national reconciliation, stressing that it represents a strategic direction by the government necessitated by rapid changes on the political, economic and social levels.
On Sunday, he also met with his assistant, Abdelrahman al-Mahdi, who is also the son of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) leader, al-Sadiq al-Mahdi.
On the second day of the second track negotiations on Darfur in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Monday, Dr Jibril Ibrahim's Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni-Minawi (SLM/A-MM) handed the AU mediation team (AUHIP) under the chairmanship of former South African President Thabo Mbeki their vision for a comprehensive political solution in Sudan.
The vision of both Gibril and Minawi is summarised in a comprehensive solution to the political issue as an entry point for a solution to all the issues of Sudan.
The European Union delegation in Khartoum said EU diplomats didn’t discuss financial support to the upcoming elections scheduled for April 2015 with the Sudanese electoral body.
A member of the National Election Commission (NEC) criticised the EU for setting preconditions for financial contribution to the organisation of the elections.
The EU stipulated an agreement between the government and the opposition parties over the electoral process, said NEC commissioner Safwat Subhi Fanous in statement to the semi-official SMC.
Community leaders from the oil-contested region of Abyei say they are determined to push ahead with a campaign seeking regional and international recognition of the October 2013 referendum result.
Both the Sudanese and South Sudanese governments refused to recognise the ballot, in which Ngok Dinka residents voted overwhelmingly to join South Sudan.
Community leaders say the lack of official recognition remained an ongoing source of suffering for the people of Abyei.
