Sadiq al-Mahdi

After the 1965 elections, a coalition government was formed between the National Umma Party and the National Unionist Party. Muhammad Ahmad Mahgoub of the Umma party became Prime Minister, and Ismail al-Azhari of the NUP became president. However, this coalition collapsed in October 1965 after the two parties failed to agree on control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In July 1966, Prime Minister Mahgoub resigned after a parliamentary vote of censure.[8]

Sadiq al-Madi in 1987

Mahgoub's resignation split the Umma party into two factions: the opposition faction was led by Mahgoub and endorsed by Sadiq's uncle, the Imam al-Hadi al-Mahdi, while Sadiq led the faction that was willing to work with the NUP. As Sadiq's faction was larger, he became Prime Minister with NUP support. He supported regional development and greater autonomy for the southern provinces. These proposals were unpopular with many educated Sudanese civilians and army officers. In May 1967, Sadiq lost the support of his coalition partners, and Mahgoub returned as Prime Minister in a coalition with the National Unionist Party and the People's Democratic Party. In the 1968 elections, Sadiq's faction won more seats then Mahgoub's faction, but Sadiq lost his own seat to a candidate from Mahgoub's faction.[9]

Jaafar Nimeiry took power in Sudan through a coup on 25 May 1969. After the attack on Aba Island in March 1970,[8] Sadiq was imprisoned repeatedly by Nimeiry, finally going into exile in 1974.[2] From abroad, Sadiq formed an opposition organization known as the National Front. In 1977, Sadiq and Nimeiry negotiated an agreement that freed 1000 political prisoners, granted amnesty to Sadiq, allowed nonpartisan opposition candidates in Parliament, and planned further democratic reforms. Sadiq then returned and started forming an opposition to Nimeiry's Sudanese Socialist Union.[8]

After the 1986 elections, Sadiq formed a coalition government comprising the Umma Party (which he led); the National Islamic Front (led by his brother-in-law, Hassan Al-Turabi); the Democratic Unionist Party (led by Mohammed Uthman al-Mirghani al-Khatim); and four small Southern parties. However, this coalition proved to be unstable, preventing Sadiq from delivering on his promises to end the Second Sudanese Civil War and fix the ongoing economic crisis.[8] On 30 June 1989, his government was overthrown in a coup led by Brigadier Omar al-Bashir. The post of Prime Minister of Sudan was then abolished.[10]

Mahdi in 2015

Sadiq continued to lead the Umma Party in opposition to Bashir after being ousted.[11][12] He spent a period in exile, but eventually returned to Sudan in November 2000.[12] As a former head of government, he joined the Club of Madrid.[2]

He ran unsuccessfully for the 2010 presidential elections, pledging not to hand Bashir to the International Criminal Court to face charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes on the grounds that it would destabilise the country.[13] In 2014, the government alleged that Sadiq had collaborated with rebels, forcing him to flee to Egypt. He eventually returned to Khartoum on 26 January 2017.[14]

In April 2019, Bashir was himself ousted by a coup after months of mass protests.[15] Sadiq affirmed his party's support for the protests and confirmed that they would not be part of any future civilian transitional government. He also opined that Sudan should join the International Criminal Court and hand over Bashir to face charges.[16] In May 2019, Sadiq announced his retirement from electoral politics.[17]