Sadiq Al-Mahdi re-elected as leader of Umma Party
February 27, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — Sadiq Al-Mahdi has been reelected at the head of the Umma Party on Friday.
Without real contender, Al-Mahdi, 74, is elected during the Seventh Convention of the Umma party, five months before the first general election since the Islamist 1989 coup d’état.
The election committee rejection the candidacy of another member called Mohamed Hassan, because he is living in Saudi Arabia.
Sadiq Al-Mahdi who is the chairman of the party since 1964, expressed his willingness to relinquish the presidency of the party, a speech before the convention in the first day, saying the Umma party has competent people able to lead the political organization.
In 1966, at the age of 31, he became Sudan’s youngest elected Prime Minister.
Elected as Prime Minister of Sudan in 1986, his government was overthrown by a military coup d’état led by the Brigadier Omer Hassan Al-Bashir on June 30, 1989.
(ST)
Akol Liai Mager
Sadiq Al-Mahdi re-elected as leader of Umma Party
At the age of 74 and more than half [43 yrs] of that age serving as a leader of the so-called Umma Party and twice as Sudan’s Prime Minister. How much energy Sadiq still have? He may still have a huge reserve of lies, but where is is the market to sell them?
Anyaway things may be tough for Mr Sadiq this time, because getting audiences for lies in Sudan is is not easy as it was in 1960s and 70s.
Marco Nyak
Sadiq Al-Mahdi re-elected as leader of Umma Party
Well, if there is no real democracy on the political parties’ level, there will never ever be a democratic system in Sudan. We have been seeing the same faces over the years, what does that tell us? El-Sadig, Hassan EL-Turabi, Salva Kiir, Bashir, Margani, Nugat all must go, we need a new generation and new blood to lead this country.