Sudan's controversial elections will go ahead this month, the deputy head of the country's election commission has said.

The announcement came less than a day after one of Sudan's largest opposition parties said it would not take part in the polls unless the government agreed to a four-week delay to the vote.

"The National Elections Commission (NEC) is working to have the elections on the dates we specified on April 11, 12, 13," Abdallah Ahmed Abdallah of the NEC told reporters on Saturday.

The opposition Umma Party had said that unless the government met eight key demands, including a delay to the vote by April 6, it would boycott all parts of the presidential and legislative elections.

If it follows through on its threat, the party will join other major opposition groups who have withdrawn candidates from the presidential race in protest against the vote they say is "rigged" in favor of Omar al-Bashir, the incumbent president.

Sudan's elections were thrown into crisis on Wednesday, when the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) withdrew its presidential candidate, Yasir Arman, from the race after the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) rejected calls for the vote to be delayed until November.

Other opposition parties joined the boycott the next day, but divisions opened up between them over whether to pull out of legislative polls as well.

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Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir

Agencies