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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Sudan
Index
Sudan achieved independence without the rival political
parties having agreed on the form and content of a permanent
constitution. Instead, the Constituent Assembly adopted a
document known as the Transitional Constitution, which replaced
the governor general as head of state with a five-member Supreme
Commission that was elected by a parliament composed of an
indirectly elected Senate and a popularly elected House of
Representatives. The Transitional Constitution also allocated
executive power to the prime minister, who was nominated by the
House of Representatives and confirmed in office by the Supreme
Commission.
Although it achieved independence without conflict, Sudan
inherited many problems from the condominium. Chief among these
was the status of the civil service. The government placed
Sudanese in the administration and provided compensation and
pensions for British officers of the Sudan Political Service who
left the country; it retained those who could not be replaced,
mostly technicians and teachers. Khartoum achieved this
transformation quickly and with a minimum of turbulence, although
southerners resented the replacement of British administrators in
the south with northern Sudanese. To advance their interests,
many southern leaders concentrated their efforts in Khartoum,
where they hoped to win constitutional concessions. Although
determined to resist what they perceived to be Arab imperialism,
they were opposed to violence. Most southern representatives
supported provincial autonomy and warned that failure to win
legal concessions would drive the south to rebellion.
The parliamentary regime introduced plans to expand the
country's education, economic, and transportation sectors. To
achieve these goals, Khartoum needed foreign economic and
technical assistance, to which the United States made an early
commitment. Conversations between the two governments had begun
in mid-1957, and the parliament ratified a United States aid
agreement in July 1958. Washington hoped this agreement would
reduce Sudan's excessive reliance on a one-crop (cotton) economy
and would facilitate the development of the country's
transportation and communications infrastructure.
The prime minister formed a coalition government in February
1956, but he alienated the Khatmiyyah by supporting increasingly
secular government policies. In June some Khatmiyyah members who
had defected from the NUP established the People's Democratic
Party (PDP) under Mirghani's leadership. The Umma and the PDP
combined in parliament to bring down the Azhari government. With
support from the two parties and backing from the Ansar and the
Khatmiyyah, Abd Allah Khalil put together a coalition government.
Major issues confronting Khalil's coalition government
included winning agreement on a permanent constitution,
stabilizing the south, encouraging economic development, and
improving relations with Egypt. Strains within the Umma-PDP
coalition hampered the government's ability to make progress on
these matters. The Umma, for example, wanted the proposed
constitution to institute a presidential form of government on
the assumption that Abd ar Rahman al Mahdi would be elected the
first president. Consensus was lacking about the country's
economic future. A poor cotton harvest followed the 1957 bumper
cotton crop, which Sudan had been unable to sell at a good price
in a glutted market. This downturn depleted Sudan's reserves and
caused unrest over government-imposed economic restrictions. To
overcome these problems and finance future development projects,
the Umma called for greater reliance on foreign aid. The PDP,
however, objected to this strategy because it promoted
unacceptable foreign influence in Sudan. The PDP's philosophy
reflected the Arab nationalism espoused by Gamal Abdul Nasser,
who had replaced Egyptian leader Naguib in 1954. Despite these
policy differences, the Umma-PDP coalition lasted for the
remaining year of the parliament's tenure. Moreover, after the
parliament adjourned, the two parties promised to maintain a
common front for the 1958 elections.
The electorate gave a plurality in both houses to the Umma
and an overall majority to the Umma-PDP coalition. The NUP,
however, won nearly one-quarter of the seats, largely from urban
centers and from Gezira Scheme agricultural workers. In the
south, the vote represented a rejection of the men who had
cooperated with the government--voters defeated all three
southerners in the preelection cabinet--and a victory for
advocates of autonomy within a federal system. Resentment against
the government's taking over mission schools and against the
measures used in suppressing the 1955 mutiny contributed to the
election of several candidates who had been implicated in the
rebellion.
After the new parliament convened, Khalil again formed an
Umma-PDP coalition government. Unfortunately, factionalism,
corruption, and vote fraud dominated parliamentary deliberations
at a time when the country needed decisive action with regard to
the proposed constitution and the future of the south. As a
result, the Umma-PDP coalition failed to exercise effective
leadership.
Another issue that divided the parliament concerned SudaneseUnited States relations. In March 1958, Khalil signed a technical
assistance agreement with the United States. When he presented
the pact to parliament for ratification, he discovered that the
NUP wanted to use the issue to defeat the Umma-PDP coalition and
that many PDP delegates opposed the agreement. Nevertheless, the
Umma, with the support of some PDP and southern delegates,
managed to obtain approval of the agreement.
Factionalism and bribery in parliament, coupled with the
government's inability to resolve Sudan's many social, political,
and economic problems, increased popular disillusion with
democratic government. Specific complaints included Khartoum's
decision to sell cotton at a price above world market prices.
This policy resulted in low sales of cotton, the commodity from
which Sudan derived most of its income. Restrictions on imports
imposed to take pressure off depleted foreign exchange reserves
caused consternation among town dwellers who had become
accustomed to buying foreign goods. Moreover, rural northerners
also suffered from an embargo that Egypt placed on imports of
cattle, camels, and dates from Sudan. Growing popular discontent
caused many antigovernment demonstrations in Khartoum. Egypt also
criticized Khalil and suggested that it might support a coup
against his government. Meanwhile, reports circulated in Khartoum
that the Umma and the NUP were near agreement on a new coalition
that would exclude the PDP and Khalil.
On November 17, 1958, the day parliament was to convene, a
military coup occurred. Khalil, himself a retired army general,
planned the preemptive coup in conjunction with leading Umma
members and the army's two senior generals, Ibrahim Abbud and
Ahmad Abd al Wahab, who became leaders of the military regime.
Abbud immediately pledged to resolve all disputes with Egypt,
including the long-standing problem of the status of the Nile
River. Abbud abandoned the previous government's unrealistic
policies regarding the sale of cotton. He also appointed a
constitutional commission, headed by the chief justice, to draft
a permanent constitution. Abbud maintained, however, that
political parties only served as vehicles for personal ambitions
and that they would not be reestablished when civilian rule was
restored.
Data as of June 1991
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