Sudan

The International Republican Institute (IRI) began working with pro-democracy activists in the north and south of Sudan in 2002. With a peace agreement in place, IRI is now working to build southern Sudan's regional government, while at the same time working to strengthen political parties in both the north and south.

Political Party and Candidate Development

Since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in January 2005 between the government of Sudan and southern rebels, IRI has focused on involving those previously excluded from Sudan's political system. IRI is training these parties on organization, strategic planning, grassroots mobilization, transparent political financing and message development. IRI's party building activities stress to parties the importance of their performance in determining their legitimacy and sustainability in politics.

An example of IRI's party and candidate development program is a seminar held in July 2005. Trainers discussed the transition of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) from a military movement to a political party. As the peace process moves forward in Sudan, the organizational and psychological transition of the SPLM, a former guerilla movement, to a transparent, accountable and inclusive party is critical. Examples of political transition in Nicaragua and El Salvador were used to show the participants what a successful transition can look like, and also where failures can occur.

Coalition Strengthening

Since 2004, IRI has worked closely with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a coalition of 13 northern and southern opposition parties. IRI organized a series of seminars featuring experienced trainers in coalition building from countries in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Topics discussed during the interactive seminars included coalition building, message development, fundraising, communication within a coalition, communication with constituency, the role of the opposition, conflict management and articulating a forward focused agenda.

In February of 2005, IRI welcomed members of the NDA to Kampala, Uganda, where they attended a coalition building seminar. Led by experts from Bulgaria, Kenya, Somaliland and the U.S., the seminar focused on the importance of maintaining a strong coalition, as well as the necessity of formulating a clear and concise message. Participants were urged to put the tensions of the past behind them, and to unite in their shared vision of a strong and able opposition coalition.

Governance Initiatives

Beginning in spring 2005, IRI instituted another component of its program. This new aspect of programming focuses on the development of a representative legislative assembly at the regional level for southern Sudan. As stipulated in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, Southern Sudan was to develop their own legislature and constitution, while still holding seats in the national legislature based in Khartoum. As the Southern Sudanese Assembly came together in the fall of 2005, IRI continued to aid them in this important transition and provided orientation and parliamentary training to the new legislators and legislative caucuses.

In November of 2005, IRI provided introductory legislative training to more than 80 members of the National Assembly. The multiple day seminar focused on the roles and responsibilities of a legislator, conflict resolution within a legislature, constituency relations, and included intensive work on the budgetary process. The seminar also included extensive group work and concluded with a mock legislative session for the participants.

Women's Initiatives

Women account for more than 65 percent of the Sudanese population, but have been economically, politically and intellectually marginalized throughout the country. To help Sudanese women gain the skills they need, IRI began work with a Sudanese civil society organization, the Institute for the Promotion of Civil Society (IPCS), which conducts leadership training for women throughout southern Sudan's Equatoria Region. IRI provided support to IPCS for the creation of a training curriculum, from which the organization now trains women on leadership and technical skills, as well as on ways to participate in local government and other community-based organizations.

IRI hosted 25 members of the SPLM Women's Parliamentary Caucus in Nairobi in January of 2006. The seminar presented the first opportunity for the members of the caucus to gather, share their views, and discuss the goals and challenges of the caucus. Experts from the U.S., South Africa and Kenya provided the women with information on caucus formation, communications, message development, and the specific challenges facing female legislators.

Since its independence in 1956, Sudan has been plagued by violence and civil war due to a complex situation involving resources and marginalization, as well as religious, ethnic and regional tensions between the predominantly Arab population in the north, and the Africans in the south. More than two million Sudanese have died as a result of the conflict and famine, and more than four million have been displaced.

In 1983, the government, which for many years had increasingly started to reflect the influence of Islam, instituted Shari'a over the whole of Sudan, including the predominantly Christian south. This was a controversial decision by the government both in the Muslim north and in the south. However, in the south, the institution of Shari'a met with much greater opposition and triggered yet another civil war.

At this time, a young Lieutenant Colonel in the Sudanese Army was sent to the southern town of Bor to quell a mutiny that had arisen among other southern officers of the national army. His name was John Garang de Mabior. Instead of doing the job he was sent to do, Garang defected, joined the rebel officers, fled to Ethiopia, and created the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). It was the SPLA, now known as the SPLM, who formed the bulk of the resistance for the next 22 years in the civil war against the northern government.

In 1989, military officers led by Colonel Omar Hassan al-Bashir further exploited the unstable political situation in Khartoum by staging a coup that resulted in the overthrow of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. Al-Bashir's party, the National Congress Party (NCP), consolidated control of Sudan and continued their war against the SPLA in the south. It wasn't until 2005 when they entered into a unity government with their former foes, the SPLA, that a fragile period of peace was established. Between the years of 1997 and 2005, the government and the rebels were engaged in peace negotiations that culminated in the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005.

The signing of the CPA ushered in a year of great change and development for Sudan. Soon after the inauguration of the new unity government in July of 2005, John Garang, the First Vice President of Sudan and first southern Sudanese to ever hold the position, died in a helicopter crash. Not only the First Vice President of Sudan, Garang was the President of Southern Sudan and had been the driving force behind the peace talks; it was his strong personality and immense international clout that had carried the SPLM successfully through the peace talks. As the Chairman of the SPLM, Garang had guided the party to follow his vision of a unified Sudan. The peace agreement was a direct reflection of Garang's vision for the future of Sudan. However, many of Garang's closest advisors and even his most trusted ally, Salva Kiir, did not share his unshakeable faith in a unified Sudanese nation.

The SPLM and Government of National Unity reacted swiftly to Garang's death. Salva Kiir Mayardit, Garang's second in command and a longtime army commander, was quickly named as his successor. Kiir immediately committed to unity for Sudan out of respect for Vice President Garang. With Garang's burial in Juba leaders felt it was important to be near him as they continued to build the institutions of government. This hastened the move of the government of Southern Sudan from Rumbek to Juba.

The peace treaty is just the first step to ending the violence that has ravaged the country for so many years. Much work needs to be done and many challenges still remain. As stipulated in the peace agreement, the two sides have six years to build a lasting peace in Sudan. Sudan's new government will face its first true test near the end of the six-year interim period when southerners will have the opportunity to vote either for unity or for secession. The pressure upon the Sudanese people to build a democratic government and keep Sudan whole is intense. Magnifying the pressure is the ongoing conflict in the Darfur region, where tensions flared between the government and rebel groups who feel marginalized by the current system. International attention is focused sharply on Darfur, and failure there could derail the entire peace process. It is now up to the Sudanese people to prove they want to put their warring past behind them and build a peaceful country for future generations.

Political Overview

Head of Government: President Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Basher, National Congress Party; First Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit, Sudan People's Liberation Movement

Type of Government: transitional unity government

Suffrage: universal, age 17

Elections Calendar

Program Overview

Focus of Program: development of transitional Sudanese political institutions

Funding Source: United States Department of State and United States Agency for International Development