Sudan Passes New Electoral Law Amid Protests
Sudan's parliament passed a new election law on Monday, July 7, 2008, paving the way for the first free ballot in 23 years to take place on schedule next year in Africa's biggest state. But opposition parties and south Sudanese former rebels said they only accepted the new law to avoid delaying the election and feared it could give an unfair advantage to President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir's ruling National Congress Party. Women from opposition parties protested against the new law outside parliament on Monday.