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Sudanese president threatens to expel election observers
Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, has warned foreign election observers that his government "will cut off their fingers and put them under our shoes" if they urge the country to delay next month's elections.
Bashir, who is seeking to win another term in the 11 April polls, was responding to a statement issued last week by observers from the US-based Carter Center, which said a minor postponement may be required to address logistical difficulties. The vote is scheduled to be the first competitive election in Sudan in 24 years.
"Any foreigner or organization that demands the delay of elections will be expelled sooner rather than later," Bashir said while campaigning in east Sudan yesterday. "We want them to observe the elections, but if they interfere in our affairs and demand the delay, we will cut off their fingers and put them under our shoes and expel them."
The presidential, parliamentary and local elections are a key requirement of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the 21-year civil war between Bashir's government in Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in southern Sudan. The polls are also the final major milestone before a referendum on independence for southern Sudan in January next year, which is guaranteed under the peace deal and is likely to see the country split in two.
Bashir, who took power in a coup in 1989 and has all the power of a military regime behind him, is heavily favored to win re-election.