Facebook shouldn’t be used to topple leaders: Al-Bashir

KHARTOUM (AA) – Governments and heads of state should be changed through the ballot box and “not through Facebook”, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said Thursday.

Al-Bashir made the remarks amid expectations of fresh demonstrations in several parts of the country against his regime.

Addressing supporters in Sudan’s eastern Kassala State, al-Bashir said: "Elections -- not WhatsApp and Facebook -- should be the only means of changing presidents and governments."

His comments were likely aimed at Sudanese activists and opposition parties who have been using social-media platforms to rally popular support against al-Bashir and his ruling National Congress Party.

Sudan has been rocked by popular protests since mid-December, with demonstrators decrying the government’s apparent failure to remedy the country’s chronic economic woes.

Earlier this month, al-Bashir -- in power since 1989 -- pledged to carry out urgent economic reforms amid continued calls by the opposition to protest.

A nation of 40 million, Sudan has struggled to recover from the loss of some three quarters of its oil output -- its main source of foreign currency -- since the secession of South Sudan in 2011.