Umma party inches closer to full unity with Al-Fadil’s faction
February 27, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The Umma Party and the Umma Renewal and Reform Party (URRP) held a celebration on Friday marking the beginning of a process to reunite the two parties and outline a joint strategy for the upcoming elections to prevent overlapping candidates.
Earlier this month the leaders of both parties Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi and Mubarak Al-Fadil have issued statements declaring their intentions to proceed with uniting their ranks after more than seven years of bitter rivalry.
At the ceremony held at a Wad-Nubawi mosque in Sudan’s twin capital city of Omdurman, Al-Mahdi said that the party grassroots will be notified of electoral plan to let candidates that possess higher probability of winning to run in the constituencies on behalf of both parties.
Al-Mahdi revealed that a committee will be established to resolve outstanding issues between the Umma party and the URRP and endorse its recommendations until full unity is achieved.
The URRP chief on his end said in his speech that there what unites them is principles and goals shaped by their grandparents and fathers through their “blood, efforts and struggle” adding that past differences with his cousin centered around how to achieve the goals and not on who to lead.
“My dear brother Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi was and still is the big brother and the leader of this body” Al-Fadil said stressing that disagreement is “behind their backs”.
Al-Fadil left the Umma Party after differing with Al-Mahdi on the issue of participating in the government dominated by the National Congress Party (NCP) but al-Mahdi rejected the idea of joining a “non-democratically elected government”.
Both men traded accusations both publicly and in private circles for failures and mishaps within the Umma Party and even went as far as personal and family matters.
Al-Fadil was appointed by Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir as a presidential adviser for economic affairs in 2002 before being removed in October 2004. He has became one of the fiercest critics of the NCP ever since.
The UURP leader slammed the NCP at the celebration saying that the only option left for it is to opt for a broad based government that would end the war in Darfur, implement key points in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and hold elections.
“Otherwise the NCP will be confronted with the wrath of the giant Umma party which reprised for the people of Sudan in harmony with the Juba parties” he said.
He also suggested that the Juba coalition which is comprised of Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) and most Northern opposition parties will agree to field a joint presidential candidate but gave no details.
AL-Fadil, Al-Mahdi and SPLM deputy SG Yasir Arman are all running for presidency against current president and NCP leader Omer Hasan Al-Bashir.
(ST)