On Tuesday 21 October 2014, sitting Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir was chosen by the ruling National Congress Party as their sole candidate for presidential elections scheduled for April 2015. Commenting on the news, our Director, Olivia Warham MBE, said:
“This is unacceptable; in no way should Bashir be allowed to run as a candidate in the upcoming presidential elections. Sudan has already had 25 years of his genocidal rule, is that not enough? How can a man who is still terrorising his citizens in Darfur, starving them in Blue Nile and bombing them in the Nuba Mountains, crimes for which he has formerly been indicted by the International Criminal Court, even dare stand as a candidate to be the representative of those people?
“This move is even illegal according to a constitution Bashir himself signed. While it’s hardly surprising that he would backtrack on a legal commitment, such a blatant power-grab shouldn’t be ignored by the international community. And not least because it’s likely to derail recent tentative steps towards peace taken as part of a National Dialogue initiative. We hope governments worldwide condemn his candidacy once it has received its final approval vote on Thursday.”
We’d like to hear your views on Bashir’s candidacy. Please comment below, send us a message on our Facebook page or tweet at @WagingPeaceUK.
