SUDANESE POLITICAL PARTIES RAMP UP CALLS FOR BASHIR TO STEP DOWN
▶ Eight political groups believed to have quit government to stand with protesters as pressure mounts on president
Several political groups in Sudan are calling for President Omar Al Bashir to step down, after two weeks of near-daily demonstrations against his 29-year rule.
The Sudanese Communist Party yesterday joined the National Front for Change – an umbrella group comprising 22 political parties in government – and the Umma party of former prime minister Sadeq Al Mahdi in demanding Mr Bashir’s resignation.
At least eight political parties have withdrawn from government in solidarity with the demonstrators.
Meanwhile, a group of pro-Bashir political parties held a separate press conference yesterday in which they said that an economic crisis widely believed to have prompted the protests is on the way to being solved.
They urged demonstrators to be patient and criticised political parties for quitting government a year before the next round of elections.
Communist party spokesman Fathi Fadul announced he was backing Mr Bashir’s removal one day after the Sudanese National Front for Change and the Umma Party both said they would submit a joint declaration to the president demanding the appointment of a transitional government to run the country until a national government of technocrats and party representatives can be formed.
The memo also demands the dissolution of both chambers of parliament and the appointment of a transitional council of 100 members, that grants all parties fair representation.
It also calls on the new government to take steps to boost citizens’ standard of living.
Umma Party leader Mubarak Al Fadil Al Mahdi said on Tuesday that Mr Al Bashir’s government cannot solve the crisis and said that his group would work with the opposition to change the government.
Ghazi Salahuddin, the head of the Reform Now Party – which is part of the NFC coalition – said that his party will withdraw from government in protest against Mr Al Bashir. The announcement was hailed by the Association of Sudanese Professionals, a group participating in protests, in a sign that anti-government demonstrations are succeeding.
Ishraqa Sayed Mahmoud, a member of the Democratic Union Party said that this year will witness a great change for Sudan and called on political parties to work together towards change.
Mr Al Bashir, who seized power in a 1989 military coup, has ordered the use of force against protesters who have taken to the streets since December 19. Authorities also
According to reports, Sudanese authorities are blocking access to popular social media platforms
arrested nearly two dozen opposition leaders. The government last week said 19 people, including two soldiers, had been killed in protests. Amnesty International said on December 24 it had reports that 37 people were shot dead by security forces in the first five days of protests.
According to Reuters, Sudanese authorities are blocking access to popular social media platforms used to organise and broadcast nationwide anti-government protests triggered by the economic crisis.
Users of the three main telecommunications operators in the country – Zain, MTN and Sudani – said access to Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp has been possible only through the use of a virtual private network.