SPLM says Arman would not stand against Sudan's President Bashir

Report from SRS (Sudan Radio Service) Thursday, 01 April 2010 (Nairobi):

Yasir Arman, the SPLM’s nominee in Sudan’s presidential elections, has withdrawn his candidacy.

In an announcement on Thursday evening, the SPLM said that Arman would not stand against President Omar al-Bashir.

The SPLM are citing irregularities in the elections process, a failure to resolve the Darfur conflict and what opposition parties describe as NCP attempts to rig the elections, scheduled for 11-13 April, as their reasons for withdrawing. Seventeen opposition parties are expected to announce later on Thursday whether they will boycott the elections.

The SPLM position on whether they will participate in the poll or call for a postponement remains unclear, despite a meeting on Wednesday in Khartoum between senior SPLM and NCP officials to discuss the issue.

President al-Bashir, speaking on Tuesday, threatened that any delay in the elections would result in the postponement of the referendum to determine the future of southern Sudan. The referendum is scheduled for January 2011.

Photo: Yasir Arman

Key candidate quits Sudan polls

Southern Sudan's main candidate for national president pulls out of the race, casting doubt on the electoral process.

Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/world/africa/8597996.stm

Sudan opposition stunned by Arman's withdrawal
The decision to withdraw the candidacy of Yasir Arman was reached in the Southern Sudan’s capital, Juba, during the party’s Political Bureau extraordinary meeting which took place on Wednesday.

Full story:

http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article34607

SPLM quits Sudan presidential poll

The decision "We decided that Yasir [Arman] should end his campaign for the presidency of the Republic," Riek Machar, the SPLM vice-chairman, said.

Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow, reporting from the capital, Khartoum, said Arman's withdrawal is significant because he was seen as the favourite to compete with Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president.

"Yasir Arman is a Muslim from the north but he joined the Sudan's Liberation Movement when it was fighting the government in the north," he said.

"For many years, he was a high-ranking official in the SPLM until 2005 when the peace agreement accord was struck putting the war between the north and south at hold.

Full story:

http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2010/03/2010331201718561378.html
- - -

News from SRS (Sudan Radio Service) Wednesday 31 March 2010

• SPLM Still Undecided About Postponing Elections - The SPLM sent a four-member delegation to Khartoum comprising of Dr. Riek Machar, Pagan Amum, Yasir Arman and Deng Alor to consult with the National Congress Party about the possibility of having the presidency discuss the opposition parties’ demand that the elections should be postponed.
  
  
• JEM Refuses to Sign Darfur Peace Deal with GONU - GoNU and JEM have reached a deadlock over the terms of a Darfur peace agreement which had been scheduled to be signed on 15 March.
  However Dr. Khalil Ibrahim has threatened that JEM will overthrow the government in Khartoum if they fail to sign a peace deal. One of JEM’s main conditions in the Doha talks was the postponement of the elections scheduled for April. [Dr. Khalil Ibrahim]: "JEM was founded not for engaging in peace agreements, it was founded to change the government in Sudan, and it will continue to do so."
  
  
• ICG Report Accuses NCP of Rigging Elections
• Election Observer Presses for Elections to Go Ahead
• Sudan Printing Press Declares Its Independence and Integrity
• NEC Meets Carter Center to Discuss Report
• International Mine Awareness Day in Juba