Word: nimeiri
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...spring sandstorms blew across the country, millions of Sudanese went to the polls to elect representatives for a new 301-member National People's Assembly, which will write a constitution and choose a permanent government. After years of Nimeiri's harshly autocratic, one-party rule, Sudan seemed to revel in its new chance at democracy. Candidates representing some 30 different parties, ranging from Muslim fundamentalists to Communists, competed for assembly seats. Major cities like Khartoum and Omdurman were swathed in campaign posters and political banners. "The Sudanese nation," said Suwar al Dahab, "has decided to go ahead with democracy...
...sparsely populated country has no modern nationwide telephone system and only a rudimentary road network. Mobile voting booths were trucked to some particularly remote regions. Nonetheless, enthusiasm for the balloting was apparent. Said Mohammed Abbas, 32, a graduate student at the University of Khartoum, who had been imprisoned under Nimeiri: "Sudan is a better country today. There is a real attempt here at freedom and democracy...
...just across the Red Sea from Saudi Arabia. The U.S. has considered the country an ideal staging area for its forces in the event of a military threat to the gulf region. Even when Arab nations shunned the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat for entering peace negotiations with Israel, Nimeiri was staunchly pro- Western and firmly allied with Egypt. The U.S. has attempted to ensure Khartoum's loyalty by granting about $200 million in economic aid and $19 million in military assistance to Sudan, more than to any other African nation except Egypt. While Suwar al Dahab has been friendly...
Most of the major Sudanese parties profess nonalignment with the superpowers and avow unity within the Arab world. The leading contenders in the elections, the Umma Party and the Democratic Unionist Party, share traditional religious roots. Neither, however, is as militant as the National Islamic Front, which pushed Nimeiri to adopt the strict Islamic law that mandated punishments like amputating the hands of thieves. The party and its charismatic leader, Hassan al Turabi, 53, still have a large constituency among the poor and the young. But analysts predict that the Umma Party, lead by former Prime Minister Sadiq al Mahdi...
That fragile civilian government will inherit formidable problems. Famine still afflicts almost one out of every five Sudanese. In addition, the country must cope with more than 650,000 refugees who have fled famine and war in neighboring countries. Repaying the $9 billion foreign debt piled up by Nimeiri will prove equally difficult. In February the International Monetary Fund, citing the government's inability to repay more than $200 million in overdue loans, took the unusual step of declaring Sudan ineligible for additional assistance. The economic pinch forced Suwar al Dahab's 15-member ruling Transitional Military Council to increase...