More parties oppose Darfur referendum

The National Umma Party (NUP) and Sudanese Communist Party have joined the call on the people in Darfur to boycott the administrative referendum in their region, owing to a ‘lack of options, participation, transparency, and monitoring’.

Through popular mobilisation under the name ‘Here are the people’, the NUP wants to ensure the failure of the planned referendum on the administrative status of the Darfur region. The opposition party says it is ready to coordinate with other parties in this regard. It also called on Sudanese abroad to reject the holding of the referendum at this time.

Sarah Nugdallah, Secretary-General and spokesman for the NUP, told Radio Dabanga on Monday that combating the “referendum scheme” is one of their first priorities in order to maintain unity in Sudan.

The Sudanese Communist Party has also rejected the holding of the referendum, and demanded in a press statement to return the Darfur states to one province without holding a referendum. “Darfur has historically been a united province. The division into states has come through an executive order by the Sudanese president, not through a referendum among its inhabitants.”

The party stressed that the divided province will lead to the empowerment of the ruling National Congress Party and the conflict in the region will persist.

“The Sudanese regime as it has forged the will of the people for more than 25 years.”

Human rights activist Omar Gamareldin Ismail also appealed to the people not to participate in the Darfur referendum. “The government wants to use it for fraud and deception.

“This referendum will not add a new legitimacy to the Sudanese regime as it has forged the will of the people for more than 25 years,” Ismail told Radio Dabanga.

In a press statement on Sunday, the Sudanese opposition parties allied in the National Consensus Forces (NCF) accused the Sudanese government of failing to achieve peace and security in the war-torn western region and announced its rejection of the referendum.

Administrative status

In the referendum, scheduled to be held on 11-13 April, the people currently living in Darfur are able to vote on the permanent administrative status of the region. The options are the return of Darfur to one administrative unit or the continuation of the five Darfur states. Only those currently living in the region are able to cast their vote. Darfuri refugees and migrants living abroad are excluded.

Darfuris living in the camps for the displaced, Sudanese opposition parties, and civil society activists earlier expressed their grave concerns about holding the referendum in the current circumstances.