\n Sudan's ruling party said Friday it has chosen President Omar al-Bashir to run for a third elected term in 2020, despite the constitution only allowing two five-year terms.\n<\/p>\n
\n The National Congress Party's (NCP) advisory council said it had chosen Bashir, 74, as its candidate after an overnight meeting in Khartoum, the official SUNA news agency reported.\n<\/p>\n
\n Council chief Kabashor Koko said the decision to opt for Bashir -- who has been in power since a 1989 military coup -- was taken by the party at all levels.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"We have decided to adopt all necessary procedures for him to run in the 2020 election,\" he told reporters after the meeting.\n<\/p>\n
\n The veteran leader faced his first multi-party election in 2010 -- after a new constitution came into effect -- and won comfortably that year.\n<\/p>\n
\n In 2015, he took 94 percent of the vote, amid opposition boycotts, and later said he would not run for a third term.\n<\/p>\n
\n Both the constitution and the NCP's charter permit a maximum of two presidential terms, so both texts will have to be amended if Bashir stands again.\n<\/p>\n
\n The earlier presidential elections have been criticised by human rights groups as lacking credibility.\n<\/p>\n
\n - 'Sudan's isolation' -\n<\/p>\n
\n Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide in the conflict-wracked western region of Darfur.\n<\/p>\n
\n But Bashir has proved to be a political survivor who faced down not only the ICC indictments but also a myriad of domestic and regional challenges.\n<\/p>\n
\n A decades-long war led to South Sudan seceding in 2011, while the conflict in Darfur killed tens of thousands of people and left millions displaced.\n<\/p>\n
\n The wars took a heavy toll on Sudan's economy, which took a further hammering when the Christian-majority south gained its independence, taking 75 percent of Sudan's oil revenues with it.\n<\/p>\n
\n While Washington lifted decades-old sanctions on Khartoum in October 2017, an anticipated economic recovery has so far failed to materialise.\n<\/p>\n
\n Washington had imposed a trade embargo on Sudan in 1997 due to its backing of Islamist militants and human rights concerns. Al-Qadea founder Osama bin Laden lived in Sudan between 1992 and 1996.\n<\/p>\n
\n Officials say Washington's decision to keep Sudan on a blacklist of \"state sponsors of terrorism\" has hampered a post-sanctions economic turnaround, as international banks remain wary of engaging with Sudanese lenders.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"The decision to choose President Bashir as candidate for a third term will have an impact on the country's economy as Sudan's isolation in the international community will continue,\" said Osman Mirghani, editor of independent newspaper Al-Tayyar.\n<\/p>\n
\n Bashir overcame demonstrations in Khartoum in 2013, when rights groups said security agents shot dead about 200 protesters. Officials claim a lower death toll.\n<\/p>\n
\n Since the crackdown five years ago, security agents have provided little space for opponents to gather.\n<\/p>\n
\n A career soldier, Bashir is well known for his populist touch -- he insists on addressing rallies in colloquial Sudanese Arabic and positioning himself close to the crowds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sudan's ruling party said Friday it has chosen President Omar al-Bashir to run for a third elected term in 2020, despite the constitution only allowing two five-year terms. The National Congress Party's (NCP) advisory council said it had chosen Bashir, 74, as its candidate after an overnight meeting in Khartoum, the official SUNA news agency […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-38385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n