Court accepts legality of Bashir’s state of emergency

The Constitutional Court on Wednesday confirmed last week’s provisional judgement dismissing a petition against President Omar Bashir’s dissolution in December of the National Assembly and suspension of parts of the constitution. Chairman of the court, Judge Jalal Ali Lutfi, ruled that issuing the decrees, which also established a three-month state of emergency in Sudan, was within Bashir’s powers “due to the necessity to preserve the security and safety of the homeland”, Sudanese television reported. The dismissal of the assembly occurred in the context of a power struggle between Bashir and former speaker of parliament Hassan al-Turabi, in which Turabi was working to have the assembly curb the president’s powers. Bashir on Wednesday welcomed the decision, saying the measures had been “important and timely” but would hopefully also be “limited and temporary”. “We will issue more resolutions that will complete those issued on 4th Ramadan [12 December],” Bashir’s statement added.