Sudantribune: Sudan opposition stunned by Arman’s withdrawal

Quote: The decision to withdraw the candidacy of Yasir Arman was reached in the Southern Sudan’s capital, Juba, during the party’s Political Bureau extraordinary meeting which took place on Wednesday. The Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan and Deputy Chairperson of the SPLM, Riek Machar, said the party arrived at the decision to withdraw Arman because it did not want to give legitimacy to the incumbent President, Omer Hassan al-Bashir of the National Congress Party (NCP) who runs for re-election. Arman’s withdrawal means Beshir is assured of re-election in the first round of voting, unless the opposition parties, which meet on Thursday to decide whether to boycott the election, can come up with a single candidate. Machar added that the SPLM will participate in the elections at all other levels of government with the exception of Darfur and Southern Kordofan, particularly in its parliamentary elections. However, Arman in an interview with the Qatar based Al-Jazeera TVtoday expressed confidence that other parties will also boycott the elections and suggested that SPLM may extend its non-participation to other parts of North Sudan. Machar said the SPLM will be in consultation with other political forces and decide how best to carry on with the presidential elections, adding that the withdrawal of Arman did not mean the party had confirmed President Bashir’s candidacy. The SPLM VP who traveled back to Khartoum on Wednesday evening following the Bureau’s meeting further added that dialogue ould continue with the other political parties over the issues that caused the petition of the opposition parties to the Presidency. It is not clear whether or not some or all the opposition parties will reconsider their position about the postponement of the elections and accept to participate in it. But opposition parties appeared unhappy about the unilateral SPLM decision and hinting that it was done in coordination with the NCP for fear of the latter placing hurdles before the 2011 referendum. "This is a betrayal by the SPLM of its agreement with the opposition forces," said Kamal Omer from the opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP) to Reuters, adding the party would not be boycotting the polls. Sideeg Yousuf from the Communist Party said he was surprised by the unilateral announcement, which he called "rushed." "The SPLM and all the political forces agreed that they would make their position in consensus at a meeting tomorrow [Thursday]," he told Reuters. But he added he hoped the parties would still all meet. Fouad Hikmat, from the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank, said the SPLM had struck a deal with the NCP to allow Bashir to win the presidency. "The SPLM have decided to not [fully] boycott the elections because they don’t want to jeopardize the referendum — that is very important to them." Bashir had told a political rally in Damazin, the capital of the Blue Nile state: "The elections will not be postponed or cancelled. They will take place on time." "Our partner (in the government), the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, agrees with us," he added but did not elaborate. In January, the NCP in a surprise move said it would not field a candidate against SPLM chairman Salva Kiir for South Sudan presidency and called on the former rival to reciprocate. Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Darfur, had threatened a southern referendum in January 2011 if the SPLM boycotted the April 11-18 polls. The NCP hopes an election win will legitimize the rule in face of the warrant. The NCP welcomed the decision: "We welcome the decision to run for the elections which is the right decision and I hope the other parties will follow," senior NCP official Ghazi Salah Al-Deen Al-Attabani told Reuters. "It is regrettable they have decided to boycott in Darfur but the elections in Darfur will continue, and I expect a huge turnout in Darfur for the elections," he added.

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