Sudan court adds two more presidential candidates for vote

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's supreme court ruled on Monday that two more presidential candidates could stand in the country's first democratic elections in 24 years to be held in April, including the first female.

Sudan's opposition parties had complained that the strict requirements to run for the presidency were aimed at preventing people from standing. Candidates needed 15,000 signatures from 18 of Sudan's 25 states.

"The court has added me to the list of presidential candidates," Fatima Abdel Mahmoud from the Sudanese Democratic Socialist Union party told Reuters after the decision.

A crowd of ululating women greeted her, shouting "God is greatest," and "Fatima is Sudan's next president."

"This is a victory for Sudanese women that for the first time a woman will stand for the presidency of the republic," Abdel Mahmoud said.

The court also accepted an appeal by Munir Sheikh el-Din Jallab, of the New Democratic Nationalist Party.

It said his party, and the Sudanese Democratic Socialist Union, had not been able to complete registration procedures for reasons beyond their control. Jallab's representative in Unity state had been arrested and his papers taken from him.

The electoral commission had rejected Abdel Mahmoud, saying she had not had her papers stamped by state committees, despite having previously told her this was not necessary.

There are now 12 candidates running for president, including sitting President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Darfur.