Hopefuls begin campaign for Sudan presidency

Presidential hopefuls in Sudan have started campaigning for the upcoming election, which marks the African country’s first multi-party polls since 1986.

Eleven candidates are running against incumbent President Umar al-Bashir in the twice-delayed elections now scheduled for April 11, which will also include parliamentary and regional polls.

The main challengers are Yasser Arman from Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, who was ousted during the long-time leader’s rise to power in 1989.

Fatima Ahmed Abdelmahmud has also joined the race as the first Sudanese woman aspiring to claim the country’s reigns.

There is some concern that a lot of Sudanese will be left out of the vote, as it would be impossible to get ballot boxes to remote areas of the vast country, while a primitive road network would keep villagers from reaching polling stations in the nearest election centers.

Al-Bashir is facing an international arrest warrant International Criminal Court, the first ever issued against a sitting leader, on charges of alleged crimes against humanity in Sudan’s western strife-torn Darfur region.