Sudan radio refuses campaign speech of Mahdi on Darfur and ICC

The Sudanese state radio refused to broadcast a speech of presidential Umma party candidate Sadiq al Mahdi because he criticized the government. In the recorded speech the former prime minister mentioned the war and displaced people in Darfur and held the government responsible. The radio officials opposed a statement about the International Criminal Court: ‘If we win the election we can deal freely with the international community because we are not accused of crimes and did not kill innocent civilians. In his banned speech Al Mahdi suggests that electing him will allow Sudan to participate in talks with the international community and asks them to cancel Sudan’s debt situation which is estimated at 34 billion dollars. All candidates were allowed an equal amount of airtime on the national radio and television.