Sudanese Umma Party organises sit-in against election

The National Umma Party (NUP) launched a sit-in at its headquarters in Omdurman on Saturday, in protest against the election that started today.

A large number of political leaders and civil society activists participated in the sit-in. On Sunday, Faroug Abu Eisa, head of the National Consensus Forces (NCF, a coalition of opposition parties), Dr Amin Mekki Madani, chairman of the Civil Society Initiative, and Farah El Agar, legal consultant of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) attended.

The three opposition leaders were released on Thursday, after being detained for more than four months for signing the Sudan Appeal, a political communiqué calling for regime-change, in Addis Ababa on 3 December, together with the NUP and the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) rebel alliance.

Malik Agar, head of the SRF, addressed the protesters in Omdurman by telephone, and called on the youth in Sudan to confront the regime by taking to the streets and protest against “this electoral farce”.

He stressed that the solutions to tackle the crises in Sudan begin with the departure of Al Bashir, and urged the Sudanese president to step down, “because you have opted for confrontation and the wasting of time and money by holding this predetermined election”.

The Wad Nubawi neighbourhood, where the NUP headquarters are located, was besieged by security agents and policemen, to prevent visitors to join the protest.