December 30, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – Minister of the presidency affairs Bakri Hassan Saleh was chosen as deputy secretary general of the Islamic Movement with three others, it was announced in Khartoum on Saturday.

Bakri Hassan Saleh (SUNA)

The Islamic Movement held its 8th general conference last November where it elected Zubair Mohamed Hassan as secretary general after amending its constitution and statues in away to ensure its control by the ruling National Congress Party.

In a press conference held in Khartoum on Saturday Zubair announced that the 300-member Shoura Council selected Bakri Hassan Salah, Hassabo Mohamed Abdel-Rahman, Raja Hssan Khalifa and Hamid Sidiq as deputy secretary general.

Bakri who is among those army officers who implemented the Islamist coup d’état of June 1989, occupied important positions in the different governments including director of national security service, defence and interior minister.

He is also known as influential among the Sudanese armed forces. But he remained far from the Islamic Movement and the organs of the National Congress Party.

His name circulated recently in Khartoum among those who might probably succeed to President Omer Al-Bashir who remains strongly attached to the military institution more than the party.

Observers say Bakri has the support of Bashir and the army. At different crises high ranking officers in the Sudan Armed Forces prefer to deal directly with him about their concerns instead of their minister Abdel-Rahim Hussein.

Zubair told reporters that the Movement decided to support the NCP’s efforts to renew and rebuild its institutions in a campaign that will be organized in the period from 1 March to November 2013. He added this move intends to boost the political, religious and intellectual activities of the ruling party.

During the 8th general conference, the reformist Islamists strongly criticized the policies implemented by the government and the ruling to face political and economic crises in the country.

A number of participants called for electing professional members to lead the IM and the NCP in order to extricate the government from what some of them described as the clutches of corruption and nepotism.

(ST)