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A Sudanese parliamentary committee has postponed the meeting on the amendment of the country's constitution to allow President Omar al-Bashir to run for a new term, state media reported Saturday.
The session, scheduled for Sunday, has been suspended for the moment, announced the official SUNA news agency without giving a new date.
Bashir, who is facing national protests against his three – decade regime, is planning to run for a third term in elections scheduled for next year.
But for this to happen, lawmakers need to change the country's constitution, which currently allows presidents to a five-year term.
"The committee meeting has been postponed and a new date will be announced," SUNA reported.
The ruling National Congress Party (NCP), and its allies, have an overwhelming majority in parliament. In August, the party designated the veteran leader as a candidate in the 2020 ballot.
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The parliamentary committee was formed at the end of 2018 to consider the constitutional amendments needed to keep Bashir in power, and he was scheduled to meet for the first time on Sunday.
Bashir, 75, came to power with a state coup backed by Islamists in 1989, but he faced it only in his first multiparty election in 2010.
In 2015, he won 94% of the vote against the boycott of the opposition. He then stated that he would not run for a third term.
Rights groups said the two elections lacked credibility.
Bashir has revealed himself to be a political survivor, facing national and international challenges over the years, but since December 19, he has been confronted with daily rallies across the country against his power.
According to badysts, the ongoing protest movement is the biggest threat Bashir has faced since taking office, with protesters demanding his resignation.
Protesters chanting "freedom, peace and justice" took to the streets, accusing Bashir of catastrophic economic conditions in the country.
According to officials, 31 people died as a result of protest-related violence, while Human Rights Watch estimates the death toll at 51.
Bashir remained provocative, saying the ballot box was the only way a government could be changed.
On Saturday, he mocked the protest activists who demanded his resignation.
"Those who talk about freedom and who protest against the government were able to freely hold a press conference at the same time," Bashir, quoted by SUNA, told a meeting of the Islamic Movement, the body that offers a political and ideological basis to his rule.
Protest campaigners held their first press conference earlier this week in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, and urged other political groups to join their movement to "overthrow" the regime.
Bashir again insisted that Sudan "overcome" the current situation.
"We will continue development work despite the crisis," he said.
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