(AhlulBayt News Agency) - "I can confirm 100 percent that Bashir is not going to run for president in the next election. He will actually give a chance to different personalities to compete for the position," AFP quoted Rabie Abdul Ati with the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) as saying on Monday.
The official added that the move is part of a package of reforms aimed at democratizing the country, noting that the Sudanese president is not under pressure from a wave of popular protests sweeping the Arab world.
"But he is not under pressure... This is not in the context of the change that is happening in the Arab world. It is happening because of the political strategy of the NCP to broaden participation," he went on to say.
The 67-year-old president has been in power since a coup in 1989. He won a new term in office in April 2010.
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