Will Sudan’s al-Bashir follow the example of Compaoré in Burkina Faso?

Will Sudan’s al-Bashir follow the example of Compaoré in Burkina Faso
By Mahmoud A. Suleiman
This article comes against the backdrop of the events led to eruption of popular uprising in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso following President Blaise Compaoré intention introducing a bill on the revision of the Constitution, which aimed at securing another term for the president who has already ruled the country for 27 years.
On Tuesday 28th of October 2014 protestors estimated as million took to the streets of Ouagadougou the Capital of the West African country, Burkina Faso, demanding the Parliament to stop Changes in the clauses of the Constitution with respect to plan to extend the 27-year rule of President Compaoré. Moreover, the former colonial power France, which uses Burkina Faso as a base for Special Forces soldiers operating across West Africa, urged Compaoré to abide by an African Union (AU) Charter, which stipulates leaders should not change the law to try to stay in power. The pairing of popular protests with Civil Disobedience campaign by opposition parties after the government asked the National Assembly to order a referendum on changing the constitution to let Compaoré seek re-election next year rather than step down had the greatest impact on the President to offer his resignation. News media reported that the angry Protesters at the Parliamentarians who planned to allow Burkina Faso’s President Blaise Compaoré to extend his 27-year-rule have set fire to the Parliament. President Blaise Compaoré took power in a coup in 1987, and won four disputed elections since then. President Compaoré took power after a group of soldiers killed Thomas Sankara in mysterious circumstances in 1987.
In Sudan, Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, the then Brigadier- General, took power in a coup in 1989 under the banner National Salvation Revolution sponsored by the National Islamic Front (NIF). Ever since al-Bashir remained in the helm even despite the split of the Islamists in what referred to as the Haggle (Arabic Mufasala) in 1999 when the Islamists ousted their godfather Dr. Hassan Abdalla al-Turabi. Thus, Omer al-Bashir became the absolute ruler and dictator since then. Moreover, he made unity unattractive to the Sudanese people in the South of the country who chose secession and made their own State, the Republic of South Sudan. Not only that, but al-Bashir declared a war of attrition on the citizens of Darfur and committed crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide of 300000 civilians and the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against al-Bashir, who became a fugitive from the international justice. Thus, al-Bashir became burden on the people of Sudan and he is avoided by all the countries like a scabby camel. Al-Bashir and his National Congress Party (NCP) regime trying to amend the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) Constitution under which South Sudan Seceded following a landslide referendum. The 2005 Constitution has lost validity as the purpose for it has negated, Constitutional Law Experts said. Furthermore, the Sudan’s constitutions in 1996 and 2005 restricted the rule of the president to two terms of four years each. The expiry date for the 2005 CPA Constitution, which al-Bashir and his cohort base upon, had finished! The only way to run general elections in Sudan in April 2015 is the writing a fresh new constitution. The Plan for the ruling regime NCP regarding the Fake so-called National dialogue is to proceed to rigged elections and gain false legitimacy for another five-year period.
What happened in Burkina Faso is very similar to the situation in Sudan where al-Bashir decided to restart new cycle of dictatorship as President in the elections his regime has scheduled in April 2015 after spending 25 years in the rule of Sudan without competitor. Al-Bashir has decided, prior to the alleged April 2015 Elections, changing the Constitution by appointing the State Governors instead of allowing the inhabitants of the respective states elect their chosen Wali. The comparison of the political situation in the two countries is seemingly similar but it is worse in Sudan.
The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) Congress in Sudan re-election of Omar al-Bashir as president of the party, and adopted him as the presidential candidate in the presidential elections scheduled for April 2015. The party also decided at the time not to extradite Omar al-Bashir, as requested by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and handing him over to that court, in the way the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, who for surrendered himself bravely and voluntarily to the court!
Although al-Bashir pledged in January 27 January 2014 that he would go ahead with re-drafting of the Constitution and bring together the Opposition parties and the government to start a National Dialogue, but there has not been any meaningful progress. Moreover, his decision to run the April 2015 elections cast doubt on the feasibility of genuine dialogue.
The confused bad output nomination of Omar al-Bashir as a candidate for presidency in the April 2015 elections by the Shura Council of the ruling gang put tragic end to the absurd Wathba dialogue. The situation in our country has worsened to the point immemorial and has reached a climax because of the practices of the fascist regime of the National Congress Party (NCP).
Shura Council of the NCP chose – as expected – Omar al-Bashir as president of the party and a candidate for president in elections scheduled for April 2015.
The people of the homeland need to end this troubled situation in favour of the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace and democratic transformation and the full achievement of sustainable development in Sudan. In the circumstances, the opposition forces – both civil and armed , civil society organizations and other sectors of the people of Sudan need to gather their ranks and resort to all available means to pounce on the NCP regime with a view to ousting it before they cause further dismantling of the Sudanese nation.
Will al-Bashir of Sudan take Lessons from the Burkina Faso Events and Concede Presidency?
Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is an author, columnist and a blogger. His blog is http://thussudan.wordpress.com/