Sudanese opposition starts ‘Leave!’ campaign

The Sudanese opposition forces began their campaign to boycott the April general elections on Monday.

Rabah El Sadig El Mahdi, one of the leaders of the National Umma Party (NUP), denied to Dabanga that the campaign, under the slogan “Leave!”, aims at holding alternative elections.

“We have a clear programme calling upon the Sudanese to boycott the fake polls organised by the ruling National Congress Party to re-establish President Al Bashir, that will cost the country about $800 million.

“The campaign aims at collecting signatures from citizens all over the country, on the ground and through the internet, to support the call for the departure of the regime that has brought us 25 years of corruption and misery.”

The opposition leader confirmed that “the peaceful campaign will be officially launched on Wednesday at the premises of the NUP in Omdurman, with the participation of the signatories of the Sudan Appeal in the country and abroad, during which we will present the text of Leave!, that the people can sign.”

She added that seminars will be organised in more than 20 places in the country to inform the Sudanese about the contents of the Sudan Appeal, signed by a number of opposition forces in Addis Ababa on 3 December last year.

The two-page Sudan Appeal document calls for the ending of the civil wars in the country, the dismantling of the one-party system, and the rebuilding of Sudan based on democratic principles and equal citizenship. The signatories agree that if a peaceful regime change cannot be achieved by a broad national dialogue, it should be enforced by a popular uprising. A Joint Action Charter was added not much later.