Armed Sudanese Opposition: Improved EU Ties Depend on Bashir’s Departure from Power

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)
TT

Armed Sudanese Opposition: Improved EU Ties Depend on Bashir’s Departure from Power

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)

The armed Sudanese opposition said that improving its ties with the European Union depend on the departure of President Omar al-Bashir.

It said that the ties depend on achieving peace, a democratic transformation and preventing Bashir from running in the 2020 presidential elections.

Sudan People's Liberation Movement – North leader Malek Akar said that the movement was meeting in Brussels with EU officials, including its envoys to Sudan and South Sudan.

Discussions also addressed African and Sudanese migrants.

Deputy chief of the movement Yasser Arman said that he urged the EU against allowing a constitutional amendment that would give Bashir an opportunity to run in the elections.

He stressed that improving living conditions, combating corruption and resolving the war are linked to ending the rule of the National Congress.

The EU must support the Sudanese people’s demands to hold free and transparent elections and provide basic freedoms to create a suitable election environment, he added.

Arman stated that his movement does not seek an agreement or sharing authority with Bashir’s National Congress.

“We have a vision that is not about dividing power and wealth, but in carrying out structural reform for the sake of the people and the marginalized, not for the interest of the powerful,” he explained.

The Sudanese government had announced that Bashir is not seeking to run in the next presidential elections.

Some sides in his party are however seeking otherwise.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour had previously told Asharq Al-Awsat that there is a great popular desire for him to run in the elections.



Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Lebanon's Presidential Election is My Priority After Ceasefire

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with French President's Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 November 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with French President's Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 November 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
TT

Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Lebanon's Presidential Election is My Priority After Ceasefire

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with French President's Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 November 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with French President's Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 November 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has set the presidential election session for January 9, 2024, calling it a “productive” meeting and announcing that accredited ambassadors in Lebanon will be invited.

Berri told Asharq Al-Awsat that his priority after the ceasefire with Israel is the presidential election, which he called a “national necessity.”

The announcement came as French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived in Beirut for talks with Lebanese leaders about restarting stalled political efforts due to the war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Both Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati received a call from French President Emmanuel Macron late Wednesday.

Macron discussed with Mikati the current situation in Lebanon following the ceasefire, as well as the implementation of decisions made at the recent Lebanon Support Conference in Paris.

In his call with Berri, Macron addressed the general situation, recent steps taken by Lebanon regarding the ceasefire and Israeli provocations, and preparations for the presidential election.

This renewed presidential push comes after more than two years of a vacant presidency, with Lebanese political parties still divided over a consensus candidate.