Sudan's Bashir chosen by ruling party as candidate for 2015 elections
Tue Oct 21, 2014 4:29pm GMT
* Bashir wanted by ICC on charges of genocide and war crimes
* Major opposition party has said will boycott 2015 vote
* Sudanese suffering under bad economy, had hoped for change (Adds second
party official, analyst quotes and details)
By Khalid Abdelaziz
KHARTOUM, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Sudan's ruling party chose President Omar
Hassan al-Bashir on Tuesday as its candidate for next year's presidential
vote, making it almost certain that he will not step aside but extend his
rule after 25 years in power.
The 70-year-old Bashir, wanted on charges of genocide and war crimes by the
International Criminal Court, had previously indicated he would not run for
another term in elections scheduled for April 2015.
He had also pledged to hold a national dialogue before the vote but the few
active opposition movements in Sudan seem to have already lost hope of any
change in the political climate.
One of the main opposition parties, the Popular Congress Party, announced
last week it would boycott the elections, saying they would not be credible
because of a lack of democracy.
In another case, senior opposition figure Sadiq al-Mahdi left Sudan for
Cairo this year after a short stay in jail, having been arrested on charges
that could have led to the death penalty.
With no clear challengers from outside the party, the National Congress
Party's executive council quickly narrowed down its potential candidates
from five to one, signalling that Bashir had no intention of ceding power.
The other candidates were Bashir's top aides, including Lieutenant General
Bakri Hassan Saleh, who replaced veteran politician Ali Osman Taha as
Bashir's top deputy last year.
On Tuesday, the majority of council members cast their lot with Bashir.
Ibrahim Ghandour, vice president of the party, told Reuters that only
Bashir's name would be put forward for a final approval vote at a party
conference starting on Thursday.
ICC WORRIES
Since taking power in a 1989 coup, the autocrat has weathered rebellions and
civil war. His biggest concern now is an ICC arrest warrant on charges that
he orchestrated atrocities during the conflict in the strife-torn western
region of Darfur.
He dismisses these charges and Sudan refuses to deal with the Hague-based
court. The warrant prevents Bashir from travelling to many countries,
although he has been welcomed in some allied countries such as Egypt and
Saudi Arabia.
Magdi El Gizouli, a researcher with the Rift Valley Institute, said Bashir's
fear of being prosecuted at the ICC and mistrust even of his closest aides
and senior party officials prevents him from stepping down.
"President Bashir's candidacy was almost guaranteed ... He can't afford to
be anything but president. He has to die in office. There is no other
realistic option for him," Gizouli said.
Bashir attended the council meeting on Tuesday along with the other
candidates but was the only one among them to speak. In brief remarks, he
told the meeting that he would give a speech at Thursday's conference.
"WE WANT A NEW LIFE"
Among the participants in Tuesday's meeting was one who left angrily,
muttering to journalists outside that Bashir's nomination "defeats the idea
of renewing the party, which needs new faces and new leaders".
This statement will ring true with at least some Sudanese, who are
struggling in difficult economic circumstances including inflation that has
hovered at 40 percent for months.
The secession of the oil-rich south in 2011 sparked an economic crisis so
severe that it led to protests which the government put down by force.
A 24-year-old university graduate who gave his name as Ahmed and said he was
unemployed reflected on the candidacy announcement, saying that Bashir had
ruled Sudan since before he was born.
"Enough, we need change, we need a new president because it's not possible
that throughout my life, I've seen nothing but Bashir," he said.
"We want a president that provides employment and education for young
people. We want to work and get married. We want a new life."
(Additional reporting and writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Raissa
Kasolowsky)