US News Sudan: the difficult succession of Sadeq al-Mahdi at the head of the Umma party

© AFP - AHMED MUSTAFA Sudanese attend the funeral procession of former Prime Minister Sadeq al-Mahdi, in Khartoum, November 27, 2020

After 70 years of political life, including 56 at the head of the Umma party, former Prime Minister Sadeq al-Mahdi died Thursday of Covid-19. According to several people in charge of his training, it will be difficult to find a replacement.

His disappearance on Thursday in Sudan leaves a great void. It had been several years since Sadeq al-Mahdi, who died at 85, affirmed his desire to quit political life but never really did so. He had not appointed a successor either, although some around him now mention the existence of a will. His relatives say the decision will soon be left to party authorities.

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Al - Mahdi died early Thursday in the United Arab Emirates, where he’d traveled for treatment after contracting the coronavirus, the National Umma Party said in a statement. The head of the NUP and a fierce critic of Bashir, who was himself ousted by the army last year amid mass protests, al - Mahdi

Sadiq al - Mahdi , a former prime minister and head of the Sudanese opposition National Umma Party , greets supporters after speaking to the press in the capital Khatoum on April 27, 2019. - The top opposition leader called today for Sudan to join the International Criminal Court which has indicted its

In the meantime, his daughter Maryam, one of the three vice-presidents, will lead the party. Maryam al-Mahdi, pushed to the forefront of the political scene by her father, appears to be one of the favorite people to succeed him.

His brothers, including al-Siddik and Abderrahmane, are also among the favorites, but the possible appointment of the latter has sparked controversy. Having served as an advisor to Omar al-Bashir , he was refused by several party leaders. Others find, on the contrary, that this experience makes him the most suitable person to take the head of the political formation.

If the Ummah party, founded 75 years ago, has always been led by the al-Mahdi family, other names circulate for his succession such as that of al-Wathek Breir, secretary general of the party and son-in-law of Sadeq al -Mahdi, or that of General Fadlallah Nasser, the former Minister of Defense and who was very close to him.