By Andrew Heavens
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese authorities on Sunday announced a last minute ban of a mass rally by opposition groups and south Sudan's main party, stepping up political tensions ahead of looming elections.
Members of the south's dominant Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and opposition parties had called for demonstrations outside parliament on Monday to demand a raft of democratic reforms in a rare challenge to the president.
Opposition groups told Reuters they were mystified by the late ban and said they would press on with the protest, raising the prospect of confrontations with police.
Khartoum police issued a statement saying the planned protest was illegal as the organisers had not applied for permission to hold it but had merely notified the authorities about their intentions.
"The Security Committee of Khartoum state had a meeting today and decided this demonstration is illegal ... Anybody who participates will be questioned," said the statement.
A police official said the committee was made up of Khartoum's state police commissioner, Khartoum's governor together with military and security officers.
SPLM Secretary General Pagan Amum told Reuters the rally would continue as planned.
"We have not been notified of any ban and we see no reason for anyone to usurp our basic rights guaranteed by the constitution and the law," he said.
An official in the opposition Umma party said the ban showed north Sudan's dominant National Congress Party (NCP) was not serious about letting dissenting voices take part in elections, scheduled for April 2010.
"This is a clear example of what we have been saying, that there is real intention for democratic transformation on the government side," said the official, who asked not to be named.
"It remains to be seen how the government will react tomorrow because the parties are planning to carry on."
The SPLM and opposition groups are calling on Khartoum to clear a backlog of legislation they say is essential for elections and the roll-out of a faltering peace deal.
The oil-producing country is due to hold its the first multi-party poll in 24 years under the terms of a 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war between Sudan's north and south and created an SPLM-NCP coalition government.
Relations between the former foes have remained tense and both have accused each other on failing to implement the deal, which also guarantees the south a referendum on independence in January 2011.
Two million people were killed and 4 million fled their homes between 1983 and 2005 as Sudan's north and south battled over differences of ideology, ethnicity and religion. North Sudan is mostly Muslim while southerners are largely Christian and followers of traditional beliefs.
(Additional reporting by Khaled Abdel Aziz)
