Opposition boycotts Sudan dialogue meeting, elections

The opposition parties of the National Consensus Forces (NCF) have announced they officially boycott a National Dialogue meeting which was called for by the dialogue committee on Sunday. The head of the Sudanese Congress Party was banned from travelling at the airport on Sunday, resulting in his rejection of the national elections next year. President Omar Al Bashir would chair the 7+7 Committee’s round-table meeting. However, Mohamed Diya El Din told Radio Dabanga that the NCF rejected what he called “these false alternatives”. “The regime and some international parties are cooking this political settlement in order to keep the regime of Al Bashir in power.” El Din, head of information at the NCF, said that the solution for the crises un Sudan lies in overthrowing the regime and blocking the road for alternatives like the National Dialogue process. He accused the ruling National Congress Party, and other forces that accepted the dialogue, of participating in a process that “in fact does not change anything”.  Congress Party boycotts elections The Sudanese Congress Party also stated to boycott the National Dialogue, as well as next year’s elections, because the restrictive political climate does not allow for fair polls, its leader Ibrahim El Sheikh said on Sunday. He was speaking at a press conference after he was barred by airport authorities from leaving Sudan. The National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) confiscated his passport when he tried to board his flight. El Sheikh claimed that he had a travel permission from the police. “The security apparatus can still do whatever it wants in Sudan,” he told Reuters reporters. “The political climate in Sudan is not suitable [for elections and the National Dialogue], given the security’s full control, and the continued restrictive laws.” El Sheikh was detained this year from June until September, against the backdrop of his accusations against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF, know as Janjaweed) of committing crimes against humanity in Darfur region. Also, he accused them of participating in burning thousands of villages, killing people, and raping dozens of women. File photo: Members of the 7+7 National Dialogue committee in August this year (Ashorooq TV) Related: Sudan’s opposition parties sign Teiba Charter (26 October 2014) ‘Positive developments in Sudan dialogue’: Al Bashir (24 October 2014) Another Umma Party member barred from leaving Sudan (10 October 2014) Sudanese Congress Party head released (15 September 2014)