Lieutenant General Siddiq Ismail, Deputy Leader of the National Umma Party, affirmed that the party’s statement rejecting the legitimacy of the government and the Prime Minister does not reflect the party’s official stance.
In a statement to Al-Muhaqiq news site, Ismail said the party’s presidency body had decided to endorse Dr. Kamal Idris as Prime Minister, adding: “We only expressed some reservations regarding the manner of his appointment, and we called on him to commit to institutional building, avoid factionalism, and open up to the Sudanese people.”
Ismail stressed that this is how the Umma Party handles matters, saying, “We try to correct things with wisdom, not in the way those who issued that statement did.”
He also pointed out that Kamal Idris’s selection received significant international support and widespread public approval inside Sudan, saying that the people are eager for a civilian democratic transition. He confirmed that the party had withdrawn the mandate from Fadlallah Burma Nasir as party leader, and that the current acting president is Mohammed Abdullah Al-Douma.
Ismail added that Nasir and his group are running the party from Nairobi, while the Umma Party and its leadership are based inside Sudan and in Cairo. Therefore, he said, any statements coming from outside the country do not represent the party and are not recognized.
