Omar al-Bashir sworn in for another five-year term
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. He took the oath of office on June 2, 2015 in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman after being re-elected in April. FILE PHOTO |
What you need to know:
Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges, won the elections with more than 94 percent of the vote.
The 71-year-old career soldier took the oath at the national assembly in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman
Presidents Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya all attended the ceremony.
OMDURMAN,
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was sworn in on Tuesday for another five years after he swept elections in April marked by a low turnout and an opposition boycott.
Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges, won the elections with more than 94 percent of the vote.
The 71-year-old career soldier took the oath at the national assembly in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman in front of MPs, military chiefs, foreign leaders and representatives, an AFP correspondent said.
Dressed in traditional gleaming white robes and a turban, a stern-looking Bashir made his vow on the Koran.
MUGABE PRESENT
Presidents Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya all attended the ceremony.
Bashir seized power in a 1989 Islamist-backed coup and won a 2010 election that was criticised for failing to meet international standards and was boycotted by the opposition.
Ethnic insurgents launched a rebellion in the western region of Darfur in 2003 and Bashir government’s unleashed the armed forces and allied militiamen.
More than 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict, the United Nations says, and more than two million displaced.
The ICC indicted Bashir in 2009 for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity and in 2010 for genocide.
