November 27, 2020 (KHARTOUM) – Fadlallah Burma Nasser has been chosen as interim leader of the National Umma Party (NUP) until the general conference which will elect a new leader.
Nasser, a former general from the Misseriya tribe of South Darfur, was the firest de deputy of the late Sadiq al-Mahdi who died on Thursday 26 November.
The interim leader stressed the solid unity of the party membership and commitment to the vision of Sadiq al-Mahdi.
In his statement to the Sudan News Agency, Nasser, 81, said they work seriously to hold the party’s general conference soon.
“Base conferences will be held at the level of city or county, district, states, then the general conference. Also, the various colleges will be represented,” he said stressing that “the general conference will be attended by those who actually represent their grassroots.”
The NUP was the first political party in Sudan, in accordance with the result of the last democratic election of 1986. Darfur region was the bastion of the Umma party in the past.
However, it is not clear if the party will be affected by the 17-year armed conflict and the emergence of armed groups which now seeking to be political forces.
Regarding the leadership of the religious brotherhood of Ansar, Nasser said that the current Secretary-General of the Ansar Affairs Authority, Abdel-Mahmoud Abu, will chair the group until the conference.
Al-Mahdi used to combine the leadership of the party with the brotherhood, which is the religious arm of the National Umma Party.
(ST)