Sudan’s minority lawmakers walked out of parliament on Wednesday in an effort to derail ratification of a disputed elections law.
The protest came after repeated delays to the bill, which had already been postponed twice as leaders tried to build agreement across the main parliamentary blocs.
Independent legislator Mubarak Alnur said 34 minority members left the chamber to oppose the ruling party’s push to approve the law by simple majority.
“Thirty four out of the 490 members walked out of the session, rejecting the ruling party's use of simple majority to ratify the law,” Mr Alnur explained.
The lawmakers who staged the walkout belonged to a bloc made up of the Popular Congress Party (PCP), the Umma Party and independents.
At the center of the dispute are several provisions, including who should form the electoral commission, whether state governors should be elected, how many days voting should last and how Sudanese citizens in the diaspora should cast their ballots.
Mr Alnur said using a simple majority to pass the legislation went against the national dialogue recommendations agreed by the political parties.
President Omar Bashir launched the national dialogue in January 2014, and it later led to the formation of a consensus government in 2015.
Those recommendations said the elections law, along with other bills, should be approved by consensus among all legislators.
The ruling National Congress has already nominated President Bashir for a third mandate as it presses for the removal of the term limit.
