Former NCP majority leader challenges his removal decision

April 7, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The former majority leader of the National Congress Party (NCP) at Sudan’s national assembly Ghazi Salah al-Deen al-Attabani said that he has not formally received the decision to sack him from this position and as such he remains the head of the parliamentary bloc.

Al-Attabani made the remarks to reporters following a meeting with the NCP bloc in parliament to discuss the party’s leadership bureau decision this week to replace him with Mahdi Ibrahim as NCP secretary for parliamentary affairs.

The meeting agreed to establish a committee that would seek clarification from the NCP leadership and will meet with the party’s deputy chairman Nafie Ali Nafie.

NCP officials made conflicting statements regarding the decision with investment minister Mustafa Osman Ismail saying it was made at his request.

However, al-Attabani disputed this story saying he was not consulted and did not attend the meerting in question because he was out of the country.

In statements to Sudan news agency (SUNA) the NCP media officer Yasser Youssef called the shuffling a “normal” and “routine” move done periodically. He downplayed any talk of split over it.

Some have speculated that the decision was prompted by al-Attabani’s remarks last week in which he said that Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir is constitutionally barred from running again for presidency.

Yesterday he suggested that he could leave the NCP if the party’s atmosphere changes.

“When the political party lacks freedom of dialogue and does not accept new ideas, it will inevitably die” al-Attabani said in a Q&A session on his Facebook page.

“However, the decision to leave it depends largely upon other practical aspects” he added without elaborating.

(ST)