National Congress Party (Sudan)

The National Congress Party is a major political party in Sudan. Until the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état it was the governing party in Sudan. The party wants to further Islam in society. It also wants It is also in favor of Pan-Arabism. The party was founded in 1986. It also takes part in national and regional conflicts, such as the war with South Sudan, the various conflicts in Eastern Sudan, and the Darfur conflict. It often was part of human rights abuses in the respective regions.

After a military coup in 1969, Sudanese President Gaafar Nimeiry abolished all other political parties, effectively dissolving the Islamic parties. Following political transition in 1985, Turabi reorganised the former party into the National Islamic Front (NIF), which pushed for an Islamist constitution. The NIF ultimately backed another military coup bringing to power Omar al-Bashir, who publicly endorsed the NIF’s Islamist agenda. The party structure was composed at the national level of the General Conference, the Shura Council and the Leadership Council, and the Executive Office.

The NCP was established in 1998 by key political figures in the National Islamic Front (NIF) as well as other politicians. The rule of the NCP was the longest in independent contemporary Sudanese history. It grew out of the Islamist student activism of the Muslim Brotherhood, passing through the same revolutionary salafi jihadism. The party followed the ideologies of Islamism, Pan-Arabism, and Arab nationalism.

The NCP was banned by the Sovereignty Council of Sudan in the aftermath of the military takeover on 29 November 2019. All party properties were confiscated and all party members were barred from participating in elections or holding office for ten years.