Sudans National Assembly (parliament) has approved the state of emergency earlier declared by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, but reduced its period from one year to six months. The majority voted for the approval of the state of emergency, but for six months instead of one year, Ibrahim Ahmed Omer, speaker of the Sudanese parliament, said on Monday after the vote. There are differences in positions among the political parties regarding the declaration of the state of emergency, but the majority voted for it, he noted. The emergency committee, which the parliament formed on March 3 to study the emergency orders, on Monday submitted a report to the parliament to vote on. The committees report said the request to reduce the period of the emergency from one year to six months was meant to limit the effect of the move on the electoral process, set for 2020. The committee further cited a number of current indicators in the political arena that make the declaration of emergency a necessary matter. It included a number of reservations and concerns, including the fear that the state of emergency may affect the political work and press freedom, demanding a limited detention period granted to the security authorities. On Feb. 22, al-Bashir declared the state of emergency all over Sudan for one year and dissolved the central and state governments in the wake of popular protests which the country has been witnessing since Dec. 19 last year over the deteriorating economic conditions and price hikes of basic commodities. Xinhua
