Ousted Sudan’s ruling party elects ICC fugitive, risks split

November 14, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudan’s dissolved National Congress Party (NCP) elected Ahmed Harun, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), as its leader on Thursday. The party’s leadership bureau immediately rejected the move, raising the spectre of a split.

The election took place during a secret meeting of the NCP’s Shura Council, the party’s highest decision-making body. Haroun, an ICC fugitive on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, replaces acting party leader Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed.

The NCP leadership bureau denounced the council’s decision as illegitimate, arguing the meeting violated party rules and was orchestrated by those seeking to weaken the party further.

“Those who conspired against the party, the state, and the Sudanese people in 2019, imprisoning party leaders, seizing assets, and sowing division, are now pushing for this split,” the bureau said in a statement.

Sudan Tribune learned that over 80% of Shura Council members attended the clandestine gathering, where they received a recorded message from ousted president Omer al-Bashir, the NCP’s former leader.

The leadership bureau criticized the timing of the meeting, noting that many members are currently fighting alongside the Sudanese army against the Rapid Support Forces. A planned meeting last week was postponed until mid-December to allow for reconciliation efforts.

Harun’s election further complicates the NCP’s already turbulent leadership situation. Bashir stepped down in February 2019, briefly naming Haroun as his successor before the military ousted him. The leadership bureau then appointed Ibrahim Ghandour, who was later detained. Mahmoud subsequently took over as acting leader following amendments to party statutes allowing for direct election by the Shura Council.

The move threatens to fracture the party, with the leadership bureau vehemently opposing Haroun’s leadership.

“Haroun’s insistence on leading, with or without Shura backing, hinders the party’s ability to function domestically and internationally, as seen with Bashir’s ICC warrant,” Islamist journalist Hindi Ezz El-Din wrote on Facebook.