Split looms in Sudan’s opposition RNP
June 11, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – An imminent split within the recently established opposition Reform Now Party (RNP) led by Ghazi Salah al-Deen al-Attabani has surfaced on Wednesday.
He was also expelled from the NCP in late 2013 in the wake of a memo he drafted, along with more than two dozen party figures calling for the reversal of a decision to lift fuel subsidies and an end to the violent measures taken against demonstrators who took to the streets to protest.
Last December, he decided along with other figures to establish the RNP.
A spokesperson for a group within the RNP called “correcting the path”, Al-Tayeb Abdel-Azim, said they seek to correct breaches in the party’s statute, but denied that they are seeking to split from the RNP.
Abdel-Azim, who spoke at a press conference hosted by the official news agency (SUNA) on Wednesday, said they recorded several violation to the RNP statute, stressing that the politburo is illegitimate because it was not elected by the Shura [consultative] council.
He mentioned the conflicting roles of the regulatory and executive powers within the party, pointing to lack of transparency in financial matters.
Abdel-Azim, revealed that they handed over the RNP leader al-Attabani an internal memorandum signed by more than 100 founding member, saying the latter’s response to the memo did not follow the appropriate channels which represents a clear violation to institutionalism within the party.
Meanwhile, the RNP media office, in a statement on Wednesday, denied receiving a memorandum from the group “correcting the path”, suggesting that unnamed government bodies stand behind this group.
It noted that all party’s decisions are made according to the statute which was approved by the general convention and adopted by the registrar of political parties and organizations.
The statement underscored that no violation to the statute has been committed, describing it as advanced and developed statute which allows each five members to suggest any item to be included into the agenda of the party meetings in the capital or states.
Last week, the RNP announced its intention to suspend its participation in the ongoing national dialogue process in response to what it described as a series of setbacks to political freedoms in the country.
It cited the arrest of the National Umma Party (NUP) chief al-Sadiq al-Mahdi last month as a reason for its decision along with government crackdown on media and political freedoms.
(ST)