Sudan opposition spurns parties bill

By Mohamed Khaled

The Sudanese president's call came after the Council of Ministers adopted a Justice Ministry bill to allow the re-establishment of banned political parties. The bill is the brainchild of Hassan Al-Turabi, speaker of the Sudanese Parliament and leader of the fundamentalist National Islamic Front (NIF). Reflecting his Islamist ideology which rejects Western style democracy, Al-Turabi named the new draft law as the "political tawali" bill. The word tawali, a vague term which has not been used before in Arab political literature, was translated in the English version of the bill as "association". The message from the government was that what Sudan will have are not political "parties" but political "associations". Al-Turabi believes that Western-style parties do not suit Sudan and that they create division rather than unity.

The "tawali bill" was submitted to the National Assembly earlier this month for debate and is expected to pass into law as early as January.

A committee chaired by Abdel-Aziz Shiddu, a former minister of justice, was formed to review the bill, consult both pro-government and opposition politicians and eventually report to parliament for final approval.

The government has officially invited opposition leaders inside and outside the country to contribute to the committee's proceedings. Among the opposition leaders invited to attend the discussions were Al-Sadek Al-Mahdi, former prime minister and leader of the Umma Party, Mohamed Osman Al-Merghani, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Col. John Garang, leader of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), and Mohamed Nuqud, leader of the Communist Party.

"There will be no restriction whatsoever on the right of a person to form or join a political organisation, unless he had been convicted of high treason or a crime related to honour and honesty," Al-Bashir said recently.

Shiddu pointed out that the safety of the opposition leaders, who are all outside Sudan except Nuqud who is in hiding inside the country, would be guaranteed by parliament.

However, Al-Turabi threw a spanner in the works when he said that one of the opposition leaders, Al-Mahdi, was still facing charges of treason. "Actually, I don't know how the case will proceed," he said. Al-Turabi was referring to a case filed by the state against several opposition leaders, accusing them of treason and demanding the confiscation of their property.

The opposition has, however, unanimously rejected the invitation to attend the committee's deliberations.

According to Al-Mahdi, the regime is simply trying to create the impression of a new climate with political freedoms, yet in actual fact the situation has not changed. "Our bone of contention with the regime is the fact that it is demanding that the opposition recognises its legitimacy," he added.

According to the opposition, the new law is clouded in ambiguity.

Mustafa Abdel-Qadir, a lawyer and leading figure of the Alliance for Restoring Democracy in Sudan, told Al-Ahram Weekly that the ambiguity of the law has a political dimension. "It is not poor command of the language on the government side," he said in reference to the law's dubious title "political tawali". "The law is self-explanatory... It states clearly that no political organisation will be registered unless it agrees with the existing government policies, programmes and laws."

Therefore, acceptance of the existing constitution, which reflects the political programme of the ruling National Islamic Front (NIF), is a prerequisite for the registration of political associations, Abdel-Qadir added.

The bill lays down the procedures for the registration of political associations. According to Abdel-Qadir, the power to accept or reject the formation of such associations will rest solely with the registrar of political parties, a government appointed official. The law also empowers the registrar to follow up the activities of the political associations, monitor party records, membership and their sources of finance. Moreover, he has the power to freeze any party's activities whenever he deems it necessary. "The registrar will exercise these powers at his own discretion," said Abdel-Qadir.

The law also introduced an ambiguous term, al-muhtasib, borrowed from the Islamic Shari'a. According to the law, al-muhtasib refers to any citizen who may, under oath, contest the legality of any party or political association's registration. Upon any such contest, the party's activities would be suspended immediately, pending a court settlement. "This would subject the parties to continuous suspension," Abdel-Qadir said.

According to the opposition, the NIF regime has consistently shown that it has no intention of sharing power with other political parties. "The new law should not be read in isolation from the other laws," said Abdel-Qadir. "The constitution and other laws enacted by the regime have been carefully formulated to consolidate the NIF grip on power."

He added: "It is the last legislative shot by the regime to secure its survival, while deceiving Sudanese citizens and the world that a new democratic order is being established in Sudan."