‘New Sudan elections act enforces Dialogue’: opposition

The umbrella organisation of Sudanese opposition parties said that the Parliament’s submission of the election act on Tuesday came because the government wants to realise the National Dialogue with all political parties. It has criticised the government’s plan to incorporate a Darfur peace agreement into the Sudanese constitution. Yousif Hussein, spokesman for the National Consensus Forces (NCF) added that the Parliament submitted the election acts because it wants to put pressure on the parties which have announced to freeze the National Dialogue. He told Radio Dabanga that the Umma and the Reform Now parties, the latter headed by Ghazi Salaheldin El Atabani, froze their participation, after which the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) “realised that the dialogue is over and out”. “The government therefore wants to pass the new elections act, so as to threaten the political parties either to engage in the National Dialogue or elections.” Sudanese officials in the past told Sudan Tribune that the 2015 general elections will proceed as planned irrespective of the National Dialogue process. Amendments to the constitution Regarding the amending of the constitution, Yousif Hussein criticised the government’s plan to incorporate the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) into the constitution. “The constitution is a document for hundreds of years, while the DDPD is only a temporary document, with which the government intends to trick the people of Darfur.” The NCF spokesman stressed that the Darfuri will only receive their rights if the DDPD is implemented. He expressed his concerns that the amendments to the constitution might undermine the former constitutional rights. Meanwhile, the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), leading actor for the implementation of the DDPD, welcomed the steps taken by parliament to incorporate the Darfur peace agreement as a crucial chapter in the forthcoming constitution, an inside source told Sudan Vision. Draft amendments receive mixed reactions On Tuesday, the cabinet of ministers submitted to the National Assembly draft amendments to the Sudanese constitution for the current year. Several ministers consider the step as a retreat from the National Dialogue with all political parties, an initiative of President Omar Al Bashir. The most prominent proposed amendment to the parliament is incorporating the DDPD in the constitution. The Speaker of the Parliament considered this “a moral commitment” of the government to the international community and the signatories to the agreement. “The incorporation is to ensure that the DDPD will be implemented,” he said, expressing hope that the rest of the armed movements in Darfur will join the agreement. The members of the ruling NCP split last Sunday over the submission of the draft constitution. A group of them wished a postponement until the completion of the elections act; an other group until the next parliamentary session. File photo: Former NCF leaders, El Sadig El Mahdi (National Umma Party, which cancelled its participation in the National Dialogue when El Mahdi was detained) and Hassan El Turabi (Popular Congress Party, joining the National Dialogue) (SudanTribune) Related:  Sudan’s rebels lay down arms for Darfur peace (20 June 2014) Sudan’s ruling party repeats call for national dialogue (16 June 2014) Umma Party and SPLM-N intensify cooperation in Sudan (12 June 2014)