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afrol.com, 13 December - The Sudanese presidential and parliamentary elections began today, a vote which is boycotted by the opposition and where voters may choose between President Umar al-Bashir and ex-dictator Jaafar al-Nimeiri, who was overthrown in a popular revolt in 1985. The pro forma elections, which are not expected to produce a high voters turnout, are seen as an attempt of President al-Bashir to consolidate his rule with another term in office. Elections to the Parliament, which was dissolved one year ago, are also expected to produce an assembly loyal to the President. President al-Bashir himself, seized power in Khartoum 11 years ago in a military coup. The dissolution of Parliament on 12 December 1999 followed internal tension in the fundamentalist regime of Khartoum, resulting in a split between President al-Bashir and Hassan al-Turabi, which had been the leading ideologue of the regime for years. al-Turabi lost the power struggle, but left al-Bashir's Government weakened. Holding general elections, the President now seeks a new platform for his power. All the country's main opposition groups decided boycotting the elections by last week. Even al-Turabi, which could have had a chance of winning presidential elections against al-Bashir, decided to boycott the poll. Another potential strong contester, the country's last democratically elected prime minister, Sadiq al-Mahdi, also decided on a boycott, even he had just returned from exile with the aim to fight for political pluralism in Sudan. The general reasons given for the boycott has been that the elections are "meaningless" within the given conditions, which are sure to give victory to President al-Bashir. There are, however, five candidates for the presidency, of which only two are known to the Sudanese. President al-Bashir in practical terms stands against ex-dictator Jaafar al-Nimeiri, who lacks popular support after his 16 years of misrule. The legitimacy of both main candidates have been contested in a Khartoum court, where a Sudanese lawyer had complained "that Bashir, as incumbent president, could order all state employees to vote for him, while slamming Nimeiri's nomination as a 'provocative insult' to the Sudanese people, who rose in a popular uprising and overthrew him in 1985". Opposition parties also had demanded a postponement of the elections, which was turned down by court and by the Government. Foreign Minister, Mostafa Osman Ismail dismissed opposition claims, saying they had "decided freely to boycott." The elections started today and are supposed to be carried out during a period of ten days. Voter turnout is expected to be very low, as the results are given in advance and the campaign has been met with general disinterest. In the vast areas in Southern Sudan controlled by rebels the poll will not be carried through at all. The UN and the European Union (EU) have declined to send monitors to the elections on the grounds that the poll does not meet democratic standards. Present are, however, election observers from the Arab League and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
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