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| Africa Horn |
| Bashir backs ex-rebel for south Sudan president |
| 2010-01-29 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Sudan's ruling National Congress Party said late on Wednesday it would support former foe Salva Kiir for president of the semi-autonomous south in April elections in an attempt to revive a faltering partnership. In a surprise announcement, the NCP said it would not field a candidate against Kiir, head of the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) with which it signed a peace deal in 2005 ending 22 years of north-south civil war leading to the formation of a coalition government. Relations are tense in the coalition over delays in implementing the deal. The NCP hopes the SPLM will reciprocate and withdraw its contender against President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in the separate vote for president of all of Sudan. "We are supporting Salva Kiir," NCP spokesman Fathi Shayla told reporters on Wednesday. NCP presidential adviser Ali Tamim Fartak told Reuters the decision not to field a candidate for president of the south, which will vote on Jan. 9, 2011 on independence, was to "maintain a good partnership" with the SPLM. |
| Posted by:Fred |