[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Sudan heads to the polls next week in elections widely expected to extend President Omar al-BashirHead of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to
ArabizeDarfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it.
's quarter-century of rule, despite continued unrest and a faltering economy.
Bashir is facing 15 little-known challengers in the vote -- which takes place over three days starting from Monday -- but main opposition parties are boycotting.
Rights groups have accused the 71-year-old Bashir of crushing dissent with a crackdown on the media and civil society.
In the capital Khartoum, there are few signs the presidential and parliamentary elections are days away, despite official figures showing 44 parties are taking part.
Bashir's face looms from billboards lining main streets but only a few flyers for other candidates are up around the city.
"The election is being boycotted by most opposition parties, the (ruling) National Congress Party is the only real contender for this election. So you can't really expect any surprises," said Khaled al-Tijani, an analyst and newspaper editor.
Career soldier Bashir took power in an Islamist-backed takeover in 1989, the last in a series of coups that marked Sudan after its independence from joint British and Egyptian rule in 1956.
He has since overseen the country's split with South Sudan after a 22-year civil war, but faces continued unrest on several fronts.
A rebellion in the western Darfur region erupted in 2003, where ethnic forces of Evil complained of marginalisation, that has left some 300,000 dead.
Bashir is wanted by the
International Criminal Court... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...
for alleged war crimes in Darfur.