Main Opposition Candidate Backs Off

Sudan’s Yasir Arman, will not participate in the first multi-party elections in the country in 24 years.
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Main Opposition Candidate Backs Off
Yasser Arman, opposition candidate for the southern Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement. (Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images)
4/1/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/SUDAN.jpg" alt="Yasser Arman, opposition candidate for the southern Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement. (Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images)" title="Yasser Arman, opposition candidate for the southern Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement. (Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1821527"/></a>
Yasser Arman, opposition candidate for the southern Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement. (Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images)

Sudan’s main opposition candidate, Yasir Arman, will not participate in the first multi-party elections in the country in 24 years on April 11, his party announced on Wednesday.

Deputy chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), said that the withdrawal is “due to the Darfur situation and election irregularities.” Local media report that Arman’s decision comes as the branch of the SPLM in Darfur protested the participation of the party in the elections while the conflict in Darfur continues and people are excluded from voting.

Other opposition parties have called for a delay of the elections to settle political irregularities, amend laws obstructing public freedom, and settle problems in Darfur.

Incumbent President Omar al-Bashir denied the requests last Monday. Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court a year ago on charges of crimes against humanity for his role in the genocide in Darfur.