Thursday, April 9, 2015

Sudan: Rebels condemn AU decision to monitor elections

 Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) external relations secretary, Yasir Arman, condemned a decision by the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) to monitor the contested general elections and called on former Nigerian president to distance himself from the process.

In a meeting held on Wednesday, the AUPSC decided to send an observation mission to monitor the three-day presidential and parliamentary elections in Sudan which will begin on 13 April.

The official news agency SUNA said the ambassadors of the 15 members of the Council are part of the big delegation which will arrive within two days.

The three day electoral process is boycotted by the opposition forces which denounce the absence of freedoms of expression and gathering. They also call to postpone it and to dedicate efforts to end war and achieve democratic reforms.

In an audio statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Wednesday, Arman deplored the African Union decision which gives some credibility to the contested elections. He further called on the right defenders to condemn this decision and to request Obasanjo to not participate in this operation.

"We deeply regret the decision of president Olusegun Obasanjo to accept chairing this mission," Arman further said, reminding he called on the former Nigerian leader since last January to not involve himself in such anti-democratic operation aiming to legitimise a president who committed war crimes and genocide during his 26 year rule.

He underscored that the African Union had dispatched a technical team to assess the electoral processin Sudan, asserting that the findings of this mission conclude that it "does not meet the international and African standards for fair and free elections".

"How can the African Union ignores the technical committee’s decision, and how President Obasanjo accepts to monitor these elections after (such) a decision," he wondered.

The SRF official also asked "why Obasanjo accepts for Sudan what he rejects for his country Nigeria" where by the end of March voters elected a new president, Muhammadu Buhari, and the members of the lower and upper houses of parliament.

On the 30th anniversary of 6April 1985 Uprising, the political and armed opposition forces called on the Sudanese to boycott the elections pointing that Bashir’s reelection will lead to prolong war and support his rejection for a negotiated solution.

This travesty of election "ignores the AUPSC decision 456 which sees that the national dialogue conference and pre-dialogue meeting must precede the elections," Arman said, adding that this decision comes after Khartoum decision to boycott the dialogue preparatory consultations.

"This decision is an insult to Africa and Africans," he said.

The National Election Commission this week postponed the elections in several districts in South Kordofan state where the government forces and SPLM-N fighters clash since more than three years. The rebels also said they captured ballots boxes but the electoral body denied the claim.

(Sudan Tribune)

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