Sudanese Congress Party ‘only takes part in free and fair election’

The Sudanese Congress Party (SCP) will participate in the 2020 general election if all requirements for free and fair elections are fulfilled.

On Sunday, the opposition party said in a statement read by SCP chairman Omar El Digeir in a press conference in Khartoum that they based their decision on the conclusions of the party’s open internal debate on its position regarding the 2020 election.

“If the regime is able to survive until 2020 and if the requirements for a free and fair election environment are available and the upcoming elections are held, it can be turned into a round of resistance,” the chairman of the largest activist opposition party stated.

“The most important requirements for the election to take place are the ending of the wars in the country, the lifting of the State of Emergency imposed in a number of states in the country, the restoration of public freedoms, and the establishment of a national electoral commission based on integrity, competence, acceptance, and trust.”

El Digeir added that a new Electoral Act is required as well. A new version “should addresses the shortcomings of the old act, stipulate effective and credible national and external monitoring mechanisms, and a revision of the electoral register [..].”

Omar El Digeir was released by the security apparatus in end March, after 80 days in detention in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan. In January and February, the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) detained many opposition leaders because they called on the Sudanese to take to the streets in protest against the new austerity measures implemented in the first days of January.