In a March 2010 article, Haj-Omar lamented that Sudan did "not look like a country preparing for its first national elections in 24 years," given the continued censorship of newspapers and the "complete absence of public campaigning by political parties." Noting that the political environment was "highly restrictive," she maintained that "the ruling party must open up the political space to all key participants," or else "the election will suffer a severe lack of credibility even before it takes place." She cited critical statements by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) about foreign assistance from the U.S. and Norwegian Church Aid as evidence that “the NCP is trying to appeal to the sentiments of Sudanese people by depicting Western or ‘foreign’ intervention as a sign that the country is under attack — and that they are the party best suited to protecting the country’s sovereignty.”