Previously exiled Sudanese official voted as head of opposition party

Parliament of Sudan in session [Umabdu Fadul/Twitter]

Dr Ali El-Haj, the confidant of the late Sudanese Islamic leader Hassan Abdalla Al-Turabi, has been elected as the new secretary-general and leader of the opposition party the Popular Congress Party (PCP).

Image of Dr Ali El-Haj, the confidant of the late Sudanese Islamic leader Hassan Abdalla Al-Turabi

His endorsement came in the first national convention held by the party since the death of Al-Turabi in March 2016. He received 890 of the 1,000 votes.

In his acceptance speech, he pledged to “be patient’ with the outcome of the Sudanese national dialogue and promised to give the process every opportunity to succeed. “We will not renounce it and we promise to hold on to it with all our strength,” he said.

“We are not hungry for power, but we will move forward with the dialogue,” in reference to his party’s decision to participate in the National Government of Reconciliation.

El Haj said that there could be no compromise in his party’s demands for greater freedoms. He said a ministerial job would not mean that the party would abandon calls for political freedoms across the country. He is ready to contribute in the coalition cabinet but only if the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) passes a constitutional amendment to reestablish political freedoms as agreed in the dialogue conference, he explained.

Ali El Haj arrived back in Khartoum a year ago following the death of Hassan Abdalla Al-Turabi. He was forced to leave Sudan for exile after being accused by the government of embezzling funds intended for a major infrastructural project. President Omar Al-Bashir accused him of stealing 50 per cent of the funds earmarked to build the Western Salvation Road project. He has always denied the charges. The road has never been completed.

El Haj was instrumental in the peace negotiations with Southern rebels in the 1990s and spent more than 20 years in exile in Germany. Throughout that time, Al-Turabi insisted on keeping El Haj as his deputy. Since returning to Sudan El Haj has expressed his hope that the national dialogue will be beneficial for Sudan.

The new elected leader called on members of the PCP to keep the party united, adding he is also keen to achieve the unity of the Islamic movement and to end the war and disputes plaguing the Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile areas. “We will be loyal to the unity of the Islamic movement in the Sudan and loyal to peace efforts to stop the war and the fighting,” he stressed.

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