Sudan’s Umma party criticizes new cabinet

December 11, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The National Umma Party (NUP) on Saturday criticized the newly formed cabinet describing it as “dead” and would not rise to the challenges facing the country.

“The [ministerial] formation came with the same faces and parties as the National Congress [Party] retained two-thirds of the seats and more than half of the ministers kept their membership in the new cabinet in a clear denial of the claims of innovation and provide opportunities even for the other leaders of the ruling party.,” the opposition party said in a statement.

The NUP further said that the new cabinet ignored many “active” political and military powers creating an imbalance.

It called for the formation of national interim government for the sake of implementing democratic transformation and comprehensive peace.

The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) has tried to convince the NUP for months to join the new cabinet but the latter made a formal rejection of the offer saying the two sides couldn’t agree on the “national agenda”.

However, the son of the NUP leader Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi joined the presidency as an assistant to president Omer Hassan al-Bashir.

Al-Mahdi defended the appointment of his son saying that he is qualified enough to assume the position stressing that it is not of a political nature.

The NUP issued a statement afterwards saying that Abdel-Rahman al-Mahdi is not a member of the party and is only representing himself by joining the government.

Sudan’s official news agency Abdel-Rahman officially assumed his position in the presidential palace today.

(ST)