Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies has organized an open forum with His Excellency Al Sadek Al Mahdi, the ex- Prime Minister of Sudan and the current President of the Sudanese Al Umma Party. His discussion focused on the latest political developments in the Sudan concerning the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Sudan (GOS) and the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLA), the crises in Darfur, and the domestic political scene of the main Sudanese political players.
At the beginning of the Forum, Mr. Al Mahdi discussed and commented on all relevant issues, then the fruitful discussions between Mr. Al Mahdi and Al Ahram Center's experts, senior researchers and researchers went on for the rest of the forum.
During the discussions, the ex-Prime Minister conveyed his support to the CPA, however, he had also identified some of its drawbacks. Al Mahdi argued that the duality of the agreement may cause more political instability in the Sudan and that the agreement needs to be more inclusive to all political players in the Sudanese State. As he has described that the dual nature of the agreement and the issues that were under negotiations, have encouraged the other political factions in the Sudan especially in the western and eastern marginalized provinces to carry weapons and go against the state. From his stand point, the GOS policy implications had a negative effect on the domestic political scene in Sudan.
Al Mahdi has remarked on the current crises in Darfur and the failure of the Organization of African Unity to contain the crises on the regional level. As the President of Al Umma Party, Al Mahdi has elaborated on the latest developments in his party's agenda and policies. He also responded to questions about rumors that the Umma party is facing political breakups and divisions; in which, he denied any of these rumors saying that political disagreements within the party are normal and are contained with the party's political institutions though democratic mechanism . The open forum with the ex-Prime Minister was moderated by Mr. Nabil Abdel Fatah the expert of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies