The Socialist Republican Party () was a political party in Sudan, founded in 1951.Warburg, Gabriel. Islam, nationalism and communism in a traditional society: the case of Sudan. London: Frank Cass and Company Limited, 1978. p. 88 Ibrahim Bedri was the general secretary of the party.Ṣabrī, Ḥusain Dū-'l-Faqār. Sovereignty for Sudan. London: Ithaca, 1982. p. 43Daly, Martin W. Darfur's sorrow: the forgotten history of a humanitarian disaster. Cambridge [u.a.]: Cambridge University Press, 2010. p. 172 The party was floated ahead of the 1953 Sudanese legislative election. The party mobilized a section of tribal chiefs and sheikhs.First, Ruth. The Barrel of a Gun: Political Power in Africa and the Coup D'état. London: Allen Lane, 1970. p. 153 However, the development of the Socialist Republican Party never took off, and the party lacked financial resources, organizational structures and a coherent programme.
Profile The party made its manifesto public on December 18, 1951.Duncan, J. S. R. The Sudan; A Record of Achievement. Edinburgh: W. Blackwood, 1952. p. 263 The party had a non-sectarian profile and advocated a republican form of government for an independent Sudan. Compared to some other parties, the party was open to a slower process towards independence and the possibility of Sudan staying in the Commonwealth.Duncan, J. S. R. The Sudan's Path to Independence. Edinburgh: W. Blackwood, 1957. p. 140 Moreover, the party opposed Egyptian influence over Sudan. The party supported the continuation of the leading role of the governor-general, and rejected mass dismissals of British administrators.
Following Some of the members of the new party were won over from the Umma Party.Sidahmed, Abdel Salam. Politics and Islam in Contemporary Sudan. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996. p. 43 The party also gathered a few intellectuals.Niblock, Tim. Class and Power in Sudan: The Dynamics of Sudanese Politics, 1898-1985. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1987. p. 202
It won support mainly in regions were the legacy of Muhammad Ahmad (father of the Umma Party leader Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi) was remembered as violent and repressive.Putzgruber, Sabine. The Role of Islam in the Political Process in Sudan. GRIN Verlag, 8 mar 2005. p. 11[Swiss review of world affairs, Vol. 2–3]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 1952. p. 191
Allegations of British involvement The creation of the party was attributed to the British colonial authorities. Through the launching the Socialist Republican Party the Sudan Political Service (a British colonial government institution) sought to win support from Khatimyya voters in order to counter the influence of al-Mahdi.Johnson, Douglas Hamilton. The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars. [London]: International African Institute, 2004. p. 24 The open support from the British authorities did, however, render the party unpopular amongst the Sudanese population in general. The Umma Party refused any cooperation with it. By January 1952 it had gained the nickname 'Mr. Hawkesworth's Party' by the Sudanese, playing on the perception that the party had been engineered by the Assistant Civil Secretary (Political) Desmond Hawkesworth.Daly, Martin W. Imperial Sudan. Cambridge: Cambridge university press, 2002. p. 288 Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi perceived the party as a British conspiracy and an immediate threat to his political life, and set out to destroy it. As a result of the pressure from Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi, several nazirs left the party and rejoined the Umma Party.Daly, Martin W. Imperial Sudan. Cambridge: Cambridge university press, 2002. p. 291
1953 election The Socialist Republican Party won three seats in the House of Representatives in the 1953 election, two from Blue Nile and one from Darfur.Salih, Mohamed Abdel Rahim Mohamed. African Democracies and African Politics. London [u.a.]: Pluto Press, 2001. p. 85African Economic Research Consortium. Explaining Sudan’s Economic Growth PerformanceIbrahim, Hassan Ahmed. Sayyid ʻAbd Al-Raḥmān Al-Mahdī: A Study of Neo-Mahdīsm in the Sudan, 1899 - 1956. Leiden [u.a.]: Brill, 2004. p. 210 The poor showing of the party in the election was seen with disappointment amongst the British colonial authorities.Abdel-Rahim, Muddathir. Imperialism and nationalism in the Sudan: a study in constitutional and political development, 1899-1956. Clarendon P., 1969. p. 218 Immediately after the 1953 election, the Republican Socialist Party began to fall apart. As of 1954, the party had virtually disappeared.Maḥjūb, Muḥammad Aḥmad. Democracy on Trial; Reflections on Arab and African Politics. [London]: Deutsch, 1974. p. 53 In early 1955 the party joined Independence Front, a coalition of opponents to the Ismail al-Azhari cabinet.Warburg, Gabriel. Islam, nationalism and communism in a traditional society: the case of Sudan. London: Frank Cass and Company Limited, 1978. pp. 100-101
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