Former head of NCP parliamentary bloc hints at possibility of leaving party
April 6, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The former majority leader of the National Congress Party (NCP) at Sudan’s national assembly Ghazi Salah al-Deen al-Attabani left open the possibility of leaving the party in the future.
“However, the decision to leave it depends largely upon other practical aspects” he added without elaborating.
This week, the NCP leadership bureau decided to sack al-Attabani from his position as the NCP’s secretary for parliamentary affairs which automatically meant that he will no longer assume the title of the head of the party’s bloc in parliament.
No reason was given for his removal but this month he raised eyebrows by publicly suggesting that Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir is constitutionally barred from running again for presidency.
But the head of the NCP external bureau Ibrahim Ghandour told pro-government Akhir Lahza newspaper that there is no link between the al-Attabani’s remarks and the party’s move to sack him.
Al-Attabani is widely seen as a symbol of the reformist faction within the NCP which is pushing for separating the NCP from the Islamist movement and embracing democratic transformation as well as promoting new faces to leadership positions.
In his Q&A session, the NCP figure denied taking vague positions on public issues as some critics claim.
“I’m not hesitant, but as you see political disputes in the developing world lead to death and destruction. The problem is that we do not have true freedoms and any move against the regime could lead to bloodshed” al-Attabani said.
However, this situation, according to him, would not cripple the ability to act. “I continue to declare my opinion and I bear the harm as a result”, he said.
Al-Attabani ruled out the possibility of him running for presidency in the upcoming elections, expressing his asceticism in assuming any position, saying that he will publish an article on how to elect the next president.
He also acknowledged the existence of disagreements within the NCP saying that some are a result of power lobbies suggesting that it could have detrimental impact on the party and the country.
The former presidential adviser also criticized the Islamic Movement (IM) which represents the ideological arm of the NCP saying that its role is now limited to serving the government and has no active role in society.
Last year al-Attabani withdrew his candidacy for Secretary General of the IM and left its convention last year due to what he saw as interferences by influential government figures who pushed through amendments he opposed.
At the time an NCP figure who closely followed the workings of the convention told Sudan Tribune that Al-Attabani pulled out after finding out that the NCP leadership have determined to choose someone else for that position.
(ST)