National Congress

National Congress Party المؤتمر الوطني
Leader	Omar al-Bashir
Founded	1996 (1996)
Newspaper	National Congress
Ideology	Islamism Nationalism Populism Conservatism
Website
Official Website
Politics of Sudan Political parties Elections

The National Congress or National Congress Party (NCP) (Arabic: المؤتمر الوطني‎; al-Mu'tamar al-Waṭanī) is the governing official political party of Sudan. It is headed by Omar al-Bashir, who has been President of Sudan since he seized power in a military coup on 30 June 1989, and began institutionalizing Sharia law at a national level.^[1] The party followes ideologies such as Islamism, nationalism, populism and conservatism, however, international human rights groups and governments claim it attempts to create an Islamic totalitarian state through their dictatorial government.

Formation of the Party

With Omar al-Bashir becoming President of Sudan, the National Congress Party was established as the only legally recognized political party in the nation in 1998, with very same ideology as its predecessors National Islamic Front (NIF) and the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation, which al-Bashir headed as Chairman until 1993. As the sole political party in the state, members were quickly dominating the entire Sudanese parliament. However, after Hassan al-Turabi, then-speaker of parliament, introduced a bill to reduce the president's powers, prompting al-Bashir to dissolve parliament and declare a state of emergency, a split began to form inside the organization. Reportedly, al-Turabi was suspended as Chairman of National Congress Party after he urged a boycott of the President's re-election campaign. Then, a splinter-faction led by al-Turabi, the Popular National Congress Party (PNC), signed an agreement with Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), one of the largest rebel groups in the country, which led al-Bashir to believe that they were plotting to overthrow him and the government.^[2] Al-Turabi was subsequently imprisoned based on allegations of conspiracy in 2000 before being released in October 2003.^[3] Further on, however, Omar al-Bashir and the NCP managed to achieve economic growth in Sudan.^[4]

Approving Southern Sudan autonomy

In 2000, following the Sudanese government approving free democratic elections, it merged with the Alliance of Working Peoples' Forces Party of former President Gaafar Nimeiry, however, other parties such as Liberal Democrats of Sudan, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the Umma Party failed to achieve significant support. At the last legislative elections, December 2000, the party won 355 out of 360 seats. At the presidential elections of the same year, its candidate Omar al-Bashir won 86.5 % and was re-elected. National Congress Party members were recently elected as heads of the Lawyers' Union and heads of most of North Sudan's agricultural unions. It also has a notable Southern Sudanese membership as manifested through the inclusion of Southern National Congress members in South Sudan's government. The National Congress southern sector is headed by former Vice President Moses Machar and Southern Presidential Advisor Riak Gai Kok. Following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the SLA in 2005, the NCP-domanited government of Sudan allowed Southern Sudan autonomy for six years, to be followed by a referendum about independence in 2011, thus ending the Second Sudanese Civil War. The National Congress Party is the main partner in the power-sharing agreement, and is effectively still the central government of Sudan, while the SPLA has managed to obtain influence in the south.^[5]

Darfur conflict

Since the outbreak of the Darfur conflict in 2004 between the government of Omar al-Bashir and rebel groups such as the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the NCP has been almost universally criticised for allegedly, however not officially, supporting Arab militias such as the Janjaweed through a campaign of murder, rape and deportation against the local population. Because of the guerilla warfare in the Darfur region, between 200,000^[6] and 400,000 people have been killed,^[7][8][9] while over 2.5 million people have been displaced^[10] and the diplomatic relations between Sudan and Chad has never been worse.^[11] This has led to the International Criminal Court (ICC) indicting State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Haroun and alleged Muslim Janjawid militia leader Ali Mohammed Ali, also known as Ali Kosheib, in relation to the atrocities in the region.^[12] On July 14, 2008, ten criminal charges were announced against President Omar al-Bashir, and subsequently a warrant for his arrest has been issued, but has yet to be executed.^[13][14][15]

Upcoming election

Despite his international arrest warrant, President Omar al-Bashir remains the leader of the NCP and its primary candidate in the upcoming 2010 Sudanese presidential election, the first democratic election with multiple political parties participating in ten years.^[16] His political rival is Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit, current leader of the SPLA.^[17][18]

References

External links

• Official National Congress Party Website
• Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir — Trial Watch
• Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir — the Hague Justice Portal
• "Sudanese President Threaten Wars," Sudan Inside, 18 November 2007.
• "A Cautious Welcome for Sudan's New Government," by Michael Johns, Heritage Foundation Executive Memorandum #245, 28 July 1989.
• Arrest Warrant for Sudan's President Bashir: Arabs Are Leaving Themselves out of the International Justice System

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