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Sudan Page |
Welcome to ElectionInfo.com's pages on Sudan
Official Name: Republic of the Sudan
Capital: Khartoum
Area: 2,505,810 square kilometres (967,499 square miles)
Major cities (Population): Khartoum 2,429,000 (1995)
Population: 28,098,000 (1995 estimate)
Population growth rate: 2.7 per cent (1990-1995 average)
Type of government: Transitional
Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and the United Kingdom)
Constitution : 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989
Voting Rights: one
Government
Sudan is an Islamic state. Between 1989 and October 1993, Sudan was governed by a Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) chaired by General Omar Hassan al-Bashir. In October 1993 the RCC was formally dissolved and replaced by a new civilian government, also headed by Bashir and remarkably similar to the RCC. Since February 1994, Sudan has been divided into 26 states (before 1994, there were 9). The stated reason for the change was to spread autonomy even to the remoter regions. A 300-member Transitional National Assembly (TNA) is currently Sudan’s legislative body.
Recent History
Since independence from Egypt and Great Britain was proclaimed in 1956, the new democratic government has faced internal conflicts (including civil war in the south, which wanted to secede) and a failing economy. In 1958 General Ibrahim Abboud seized power, but the military government had no more success in dealing with the country’s problems and in the mid-1960s was succeeded by a civilian government. The economy deteriorated further and the war in the south continued. In 1969 another coup brought Gaafar Muhammad al-Nimeiry to power. In the early 1970s he granted limited autonomy to the south and ended the civil war. Nimeiry also implemented policies to stimulate the economy. However, his programme of Islamization in the 1980s, which sought to impose shariah (Islamic law) on the whole country, rekindled the civil war and eventually led to a coup in 1985. The officers involved in the coup sponsored free elections in 1986, but the new government under Sadiq al-Mahdi was unable to end the civil war or establish political stability. In 1989 Mahdi was overthrown by Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament, and banned political parties. A 15-member Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) governed the country until February 1992, when a transitional parliament was formed. In October 1993 the RCC was officially dissolved and replaced by a new civilian government led by Bashir, which was not dissimilar to the previous one. Reforms were also announced, and local elections were held in 1995, with a presidential election planned for late 1996.
Meanwhile, the civil war against the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the south continued, and people in the south, mostly non-Arabs, were affected by fighting and food shortages. The SPLM wants to establish a secular, democratic state, free from control by Islamic law. In 1991 refugees from the south who had fled north to escape the civil war were relocated away from large northern cities to areas with inadequate facilities. This, along with the restriction of relief supplies, complicated negotiations between the SPLM and the government. In 1992 international relief operations were suspended because fighting (which is between rival factions as well as against the government) had become too fierce. In 1993 the government permitted limited shipments of food aid, but relief efforts were suspended in early 1994 when the government launched a massive offensive against rebels in the far south, and refugees began to flee towards Uganda. Peace talks that took place in September 1994 ended in deadlock, and the political situation remains unresolved.
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