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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Sudan
Index
After the settlement in the south, Nimeiri attempted to mend
fences with northern Muslim religious groups. The government
undertook administrative decentralization, popular with the
Ansar, that favored rural over urban areas, where leftist
activism was most evident. Khartoum also reaffirmed Islam's
special position in the country, recognized the sharia as the
source of all legislation, and released some members of religious
orders who had been incarcerated. However, a reconciliation with
conservative groups, which had organized outside Sudan under
Sadiq al Mahdi's leadership and were later known as the National
Front, eluded Nimeiri.
In August 1972, Nimeiri sought to consolidate his position by
creating a Constituent Assembly to draft a permanent
constitution. He then asked for the government's resignation to
allow him to appoint a cabinet whose members were drawn from the
Constituent Assembly. Nimeiri excluded individuals who had
opposed the southern settlement or who had been identified with
the SSU's pro-Egyptian faction.
In May 1973, the Constitutent Assembly promulgated a draft
constitution. This document provided for a continuation of
presidential government, recognized the SSU as the only
authorized political organization, and supported regional
autonomy for the south. The constitution also stipulated that
voters were to choose members for the 250-seat People's Assembly
from an SSU-approved slate. Although it cited Islam as Sudan's
official religion, the constitution admitted Christianity as the
faith of a large number of Sudanese citizens
(see Christianity
, ch. 2). In May 1974, voters selected 125 members for the
assembly; SSU-affiliated occupational and professional groups
named 100; and the president appointed the remaining 25.
Discontent with Nimeiri's policies and the increased military
role in government escalated as a result of food shortages and
the southern settlement, which many Muslim conservatives regarded
as surrender. In 1973 and 1974 there were unsuccessful coup
attempts against Nimeiri. Muslims and leftist students also
staged strikes against the government. In September 1974, Nimeiri
responded to this unrest by declaring a state of emergency,
purging the SSU, and arresting large numbers of dissidents.
Nimeiri also replaced some cabinet members with military
personnel loyal to him.
Conservative opposition to Nimeiri coalesced in the National
Front, formed in 1974. The National Front included people from
Sadiq's wing of Umma; the NUP; and the Islamic Charter Front,
then the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic
activist movement. Their activity crystallized in a July 1976
Ansar-inspired coup attempt. Government soldiers quickly restored
order by killing more than 700 rebels in Khartoum and arresting
scores of dissidents, including many prominent religious leaders.
Despite this unrest, in 1977 Sudanese voters reelected Nimeiri
for a second six-year term as president.
Data as of June 1991
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