Sudan’s Umma Party sacks acting leader over pact with RSF-aligned groups
February 25, 2025 (CAIRO) – Sudan’s National Umma Party (NUP) dismissed its acting leader late on Monday after he signed a pact with groups aligned with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to establish a parallel government, a party leadership body said.
Fadlallah Burma Nasir, along with representatives of other armed, political, and civil organizations, signed the founding charter on Feb. 22. The agreement endorsed the formation of a parallel government, the establishment of a secular state, and the right to self-determination if secularism is not enshrined in a transitional or permanent constitution.
In a statement seen by Sudan Tribune, the NUP’s Presidential Institution said it had “decided to withdraw the mandate” of retired Major General Fadlallah Burma Nasir as party president. Mohamed Abdallah Al-Douma will replace him, “exercising the powers of the elected president and making decisions through the Presidential Institution,” it added.
The party leadership said it would hold consultations to reorganize the party’s internal structure, inviting other institutions, including the Coordination Council, to reach a consensus on the decision to remove Burma Nasir.
Fadlallah Burma Nasir was appointed acting head of the party on November 28, 2020, by the Presidential Institution, succeeding the party’s long-time leader Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, who died. The appointment, approved by the Coordination Council and the Political Bureau, stipulated that Burma Nasir would make decisions through the Presidential Institution.
The statement argued that Burma Nasir’s appointment was based on a “non-constitutional legitimacy” derived from consensus, as the party’s constitution did not specify a succession process in the event of the president’s death. This consensus, it added, obligated him to act through the Presidential Institution, which held him accountable.
The leadership body stated that Burma Nasir participated in meetings and signed the “Sudan Founding Charter” (known as “Ta’sees”) without authorization from or even informing the Presidential Institution.
The statement emphasized that the provisions of the founding charter contradict the core principles of the National Umma Party, particularly regarding the imposition of secularism and the right to self-determination. Such provisions, it warned, could incite religious conflict and lead to the disintegration of Sudan.
However, a senior NUP official disputed the decision, telling Sudan Tribune that the Presidential Institution’s move to oust the acting leader was “invalid” without the Political Bureau’s approval.
The official, speaking anonymously, said that a vote of no confidence in Burma Nasir requires a “recommendation from the Presidential Institution and the Coordination Council, and [subsequent] approval by the Political Bureau.”
“The decision did not go through the Coordination Council or the Political Bureau; therefore, it remains ink on paper and is not in effect,” the official added.