Al-Bashir’s Party faced with a new split Fierce conflict ensued between the Political Prisoners and Türkiye Group

Conflicting statements warning of a major split between the leaders of the Islamic “National Congress” Party have been circulating. The Party ruled Sudan under the leadership of Omar Al-Bashir for thirty years, before being overthrown by a popular revolution in April (2019). Sources stated that a dispute had come to light between the (Political Prisoners) group led by Ahmed Haroun and the (Türkiye) group led by Party leader Ibrahim Mahmoud.

The Party had split for the first time during its years in power, when a group led by Al-Bashir and a group led by the late Hassan Al-Turabi, the godfather of the Islamic Movement in Sudan, clashed. That subsequent split was known at the time as the “separation”.

However, the two conflicting groups now agree on their support for the Army in its war against the Rapid Support Forces, while many see the Islamic “National Congress” Party as the main obstacle in the path of negotiations to stop the war, as it wishes to return to power again through an alliance with the Army.

The Party originally came to power in (1989) through a military coup that was denied by a group of Islamist officers within the Army, when they overthrew a democratically elected government.

Following the return of Party leader Ibrahim Mahmoud from Türkiye, conflicts emerged between the Party’s former leaders; as the Party’s leadership office, loyal to Ibrahim Mahmoud, accused, in a statement on Wednesday evening, (leaders), whom it didn’t name, of being involved in a conspiracy that led to the fall of the Party’s rule in (2019), and also of seeking to split the Party by calling for a meeting of the “Party’s Shura Council,” in a blatant violation of the Party’s internal regulations and the decisions of its institutions.

“Dividing the Party”

The leadership office decided, as shared in a statement according to (Asharq Al-Awsat), not to recognize any decisions issued following the Shura Council meeting, considering them a violation of the basic regulations, and asked the Shura Council members not to respond to the invitation, to avoid “breaking the Party’s ranks.”

The Ibrahim Mahmoud faction includes former leader Nafie Ali Nafie and the so-called (Türkiye) Group, in addition to a number of leaders, most notably of whom is Al-Bashir’s former deputy, Al-Hajj Adam.

The second group is headed by the Party leader who was appointed by Al-Bashir as his deputy a few days before the fall of his regime, namely Ahmed Mohamed Haroun. This group includes the Secretary-General of the Islamic Movement, Ali Ahmed Karti, and Omar Al-Bashir himself. They are referred to as the “Political Prisoners” group who were arrested after the fall of Al-Bashir’s regime, and then released from prison after the war broke out on April 15th, 2023.

For its part, the “Political Prisoners” group called for a meeting of the Shura Council, but Ibrahim Mahmoud’s group believes that the meeting should be held periodically and exceptionally at the request of a third of its members, which isn’t possible due to the war. In addition, the Executive Office adopts the directives issued by the Shura Council.

The latter group stipulated that membership be revised, ending the membership of those who belonged to another party, especially the “Future Movement Party,” which was established by members of the “National Congress” to be a new front for them, claiming that the time isn’t appropriate for the Shura Council to convene; Because its membership is busy fighting alongside the Army, and holding the meeting will create sharp polarization among the membership, threatening the unity of the Party.

The Conspiracy Against the Party

The statement directed an implicit accusation at the other group of conspiring against the Party, which ended with the fall of its rule, the imprisonment of its leaders, and preventing it from accessing its financial resources, stating: “They’re currently putting forth efforts to split the Party’s unity by insisting on holding a meeting of the Shura Council,” and called on them to focus on the battle against the Rapid Support Forces, threatening not to recognize a meeting of the Shura Council.

In what can only be described as “going with the flow,” the head of the Shura Council, Osman Mohamed Youssef Kibir, announced the postponement of the Council’s meeting due to what he referred to as polarization and disagreements among the membership, under the pretext that the circumstances require unity of ranks and unification of efforts to support the Army.

However, leaks on the page of the Islamic leader Ammar Al-Sajjad shared that the Shura Council held its meeting in complete secrecy and chose Ahmed Haroun as president, and considered the statement of the leadership office a departure from the Party hierarchy.

Ashraf Abdel Aziz, editor-in-chief of Al-Jareedanewspaper and former Islamist, attributes the conflict within the National Congress Party to organizational imbalances that began in the last days of Al-Bashir’s rule, who appointed Ahmed Haroun as the Party’s deputy chairman. After Al-Bashir’s rule fell and he was imprisoned, the Shura Council appointed former Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour as the Party’s Chairman, and shortly after his arrest, the Council appointed Ibrahim Mahmoud as the Party’s Chairman.

Leaders Released from Prison

Abdel Aziz told (Asharq Al-Awsat) that the conflict over the Party’s leadership began when Ahmed Haroun and the rest of the detained leaders were released from prison after the war broke out. With Al-Bashir’s disappearance from the spotlight, his deputy Ahmed Haroun is the Party’s de facto chairman, while Ibrahim Mahmoud insists that he was appointed by the Shura Council, the Party’s highest body.

In his explanation of the reasons for the conflict, Abdel Aziz believes that Ibrahim Mahmoud’s faction wants to “get rid of the heavy burden” of the group, which faces “criminal charges” domestically and internationally; As they’re facing trial for masterminding the June (1989) Coup, and three of them –Omar Al-Bashir, Ahmed Haroun and Abdel Rahim Hussein– are wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), in addition to facing domestic charges.