SPLM's Presidential Candidate Expects Polls to End of Status Quo in Khartoum
Peter Clottey 08 March 2010
The presidential candidate of the Sudan’s People Liberation Movement (SPLM) is calling for a “complete paradigm shift” from Sudan’s old politics that he says destabilized the entire Horn of Africa region.
For Yasir Arman, that means winning the presidency of the central government in Khartoum, a position now held by President Omar Bashir of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).
The SPLM’s stronghold is in southern Sudan, an area many observers also expect the party to win.
According to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between the national government and the SPLM, the south will be allowed to hold a referendum two years from now to decide whether to remain part of Sudan, or to form a separate nation.
Yasir Arman says “[Southerners] should be very optimistic, especially the SPLM&hellipwe stand a good chance [the national elections].”
“The only way to guarantee their freedom and the only way to guarantee their right is to work to transform the system in Khartoum. That is the sure way of getting freedom. It is only through transforming the seat of power in [the capital],” Arman said.
The SPLM candidate, who traces his roots to diverse backgrounds and tribes in Sudan, was born in 1961 in Jezeera, about 180 kilometers (111.846 miles) from the capital, Khartoum.
The national media reports that Arman can trace his family’s roots in Sudan to the mid-1800’s, before the Mahdist [Islamic] rebellion against British rule in the 1880’s. His great, great grandparents migrated from Damael state near Shendi to Jezeera and Khartoum.
Arman studied law at the Khartoum branch of Cairo University in 1996. Shortly afterward, he joined the SPLM where he quickly rose through the ranks to become a member of the party’s Political Bureau and National Council.
He reportedly stayed at Iowa State University during the summer of 2007 where he improved his English skills by taking classes at the Intensive English and Orientation Program under the guidance of his educational consultant, John House, who is also a tutor at the university.
Arman is married to Awuor Deng Kuol. They have two daughters, Shanaa,18, and Wafaa,13.
In December 2009, Arman was arrested with other SPLM partisans after they demanded more democratic reforms from President Hassan Bashir’s government during at a protest march in the capital.
The SPLM’s Political Bureau nominated Arman to lead the party in the general elections scheduled for April after Salva Kiir, chairman of the party and Riek Marchar, the party’s vice president, reportedly declined to be candidates.
Arman and other opposition parties recently accused President Bashir’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of intimidation and plotting to rig the upcoming vote - - charges the NCP denies.
He expressed hope that the vote will be free despite the challenges the Independent Electoral Commission faces.
“We are looking for the election to be free and fair. The only way to do it is to (embark) on a massive campaign that depends on people in urban and rural areas. We should be calling for transformation and democratization. Democracy will not come by itself (and) it needs us to struggle for it,” he said.
He often says that there is need for a “new Sudan” where the citizens have the right and the freedom to choose their own leaders.
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