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SPLM Needs Bashir for Full CPA Implementation, Says Analyst

   Peter Clottey 28 April 2010

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

   Southern  Sudan President and elections candidate Salva Kiir, looks on
   during  his  meeting  with  EU  chief  observer for Sudanese elections
   Veronique  de  Keyser,  not  pictured,  in Juba, South Sudan, Tuesday,
   April  13,  2010.  The  elections  were  billed  as  a chance to bring
   democracy  to  Sudan  and  start  to  heal  a  history of turmoil. (AP
   Photo/Abd Raouf)

   An  official of the International Crisis Group says the Sudan Peopleās
   Liberation    Movement   (SPLM)   will   need   the   cooperation   of
   President-Elect  Omar Hassan al-Bashir and his National Congress Party
   (NCP)  if  the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is to be fully
   implemented.

   Fouad  Hikmat  says  the  SPLM  will  also  need to participate in the
   legislative and executive arms of a government led by Mr. Bashir ahead
   of  Southern  Sudanās  referendum,  which is scheduled to be held next
   January.

   āDefinitely,  they  (SPLM)  need  to  be  in  the  executive  and  the
   legislative  branches  of the government because they need to continue
   working  with  the  National Congress Party to implement the remaining
   provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement,ā he said.

   The  National  Electoral  Commission declared Mr. Bashir winner of the
   presidential  election. The incumbent received more than 62 percent of
   the  total  votes  cast. Several opposition parties boycotted the vote
   claiming widespread rigging.

   President Bashirās dominant NCP said it would invite opposition groups
   into  the  government  if it won the election. Some observers said the
   move  was aimed at resolving tensions after the opposition accused the
   ruling  party  of  influencing Sudanās electoral commission to rig the
   vote -- a charge the commission denies.

   Hikmat  said  the NCP must choose to invite opposition groups into its
   cabinet.

   āI  think  that  is  the prerogative of the National Congress Party if
   they  are  willing  to  invite  the other opposition parties those who
   participated  in  the  elections,  like  the PCP (The Popular Congress
   Party)  of  Al-Turabi,  and the DUP (the Democratic Unionist Party) of
   Al-Mirghani, or those who boycotted. However, what I hear is that most
   of  them do not want to take part in the government because they donāt
   recognize  the outcome of the elections, and they think that Bashir is
   not a legitimate president,ā Hikmat said.

   He  also  said  despite  the  refusal  of  some  opposition parties to
   recognize  the  legitimacy of President Bashir or join his government,
   the  NCP will continue pursuing its own objectives after achieving its
   first goal of winning the election.

   Meanwhile,  Sudanās  local  media  quoted opposition UMMA party leader
   Sadiq al-Mahdi as saying he is ready to engage in talks with President
   Bashirās   government   that   concern   the  upcoming  referendum  on
   independence  for  the  south, the Darfur crisis, and opportunities to
   achieve national unity.

   The  January  2011  referendum  will  allow  residents of the south to
   decide  whether  or  not  to  remain  a part of Sudan or to secede and
   become an independent country.

   The  elections  and  upcoming referendum are essential elements of the
   CPA,  which  effectively  ended decades of civil war between the north
   and the south.

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