Maintaining political stability while developing the national economy will also remain an important task for Omar al-Bashir.

Peace, development and democracy are powerful trends in today's world. But despite the success story that has unfolded over the course of its recent elections, if Sudan wants to continue to promote a democratic agenda and realize a higher degree of democracy, it must also develop its national economy to maintain this political stability.

Nonetheless, although the Sudanese economy has made some impressive progress in recent years, it still has far to go. Currently, it remains one of the least developed countries in Africa and—despite its vast land resources—Sudan has yet to fully resolve even the basic problem of food self-sufficiency.

In this sense, the development of the national economy extends well beyond the political realm and into the field of social progress.

Sudan also faces the challenge of establishing a political system which is more suitable to its social conditions.

Last year, U.S. President Barack Obama told the UN General Assembly, "Democracy cannot be imposed on any nation from the outside."

"Each society must search for its own path—and no path is perfect," he added. "Each country will pursue a path rooted in the culture of its people and in its past traditions."

Not only was this statement brilliant, it also underscored the futility of the United States' "democratic experiment" in Iraq. But regardless of politics or social and economic development, the Sudanese people will continue to pursue the path that is most appropriate for them.

Sudan's Political Development Path

Since Sudan declared independence from Britain in 1956, it has been mired in long-term unrest. It witnessed two civil wars between the north and the south from 1955 to 1972, and from 1983 to 2005, respectively. Both civil wars were legacies of divisive British colonial policies, and intensified the separatist aspirations of the south.

Since the 1960s and the 1970s, the Darfur region in western Sudan has been struck by heavy drought and aggressive desertification. This led to disputes between local black Africans and Arabs who fought over pastures and arable land.

This animosity culminated in February 2003, when the blacks coalesced into two armed groups—the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement. Both groups condemned Khartoum for its failure to protect the rights of the indigenous blacks and sought regional autonomy.

The conflicts between Darfur rebels and government forces have since intensified, causing a large number of civilian casualties and serious refugee problems. The United States and other Western countries have strongly condemned the Khartoum government for inflicting "genocide" on the people of Darfur.

In the more than three decades from the late 1950s to the late 1980s, Sudan underwent seven coups. In June 1989, Omar al-Bashir launched a military coup and established the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation as the supreme authority, appointing himself the prime minister. In October 1993, the council was dissolved and Omar al-Bashir became the president.

Starting in 2001, the Sudanese Government conducted a series of negotiations with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)—the main anti-government force in Southern Sudan. In January 2005, the two sides signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. It mandated that President Omar al-Bashir's National Congress Party and the SPLM enter into a power-sharing agreement. That same year, a national unity government was established in Khartoum, and an autonomous government was set up in Southern Sudan.

In February 2010, the Sudanese Government signed a ceasefire agreement with the Justice and Equality Movement. Then in March, it signed a similar agreement with another Darfur rebel group—the Liberation and Justice Movement.

Although Omar al-Bashir neither resolved the Southern Sudan issue during his 21-year rule nor kept the Darfur conflict from emerging, he did maintain enough stability to safeguard national unity. In 2007 and 2008, Sudan's economic growth rate hit 10.2 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively. And in 2009, its GDP per capita reached $2,300.