14 Candidates to Run Against Bashir in Sudan Election

Fourteen candidates have registered to run against Sudan's Omar al-Bashir in a presidential vote in April, the country's electoral commission said on Tuesday.

"The electoral commission has received a total of 15 candidacies for the post of the president of the republic," commission head Mokhtar al-Assam told reporters.

The presidential vote is scheduled for April 13 and parliamentary elections will take place the same day.

Incumbent Bashir, 71, has been in power for a quarter of a century and is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur.

Among those seeking to challenge Bashir are Fadl el-Sayed Shuayb, a lawyer who heads the moderate Federal Truth party, and Fatima Ahmed Abdel Mahmoud, a member of the Socialist Union party created by former president Gaafar al-Nimeiry.

Other candidates include journalist Mohamed Awadh al-Baroudi, a former member of the ruling National Congress party who is running as an independent. 

Bashir is hotly tipped to win, especially as several opposition groups have already said they will boycott the April vote.