By Our
Correspondent, KHARTOUM Sudan
Leading Sudanese politician and former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi died from a coronavirus infection three weeks after being hospitalised in the United Arab Emirates, according to family sources and a party statement early on Thursday.
Mahdi, 84, was Sudan's last
democratically elected prime minister and was overthrown in 1989 in the
military coup that brought former president Omar al-Bashir to power.
The moderate Umma Party was one
of the largest opposition parties under Bashir, and Mahdi remained an
influential figure even after Bashir was toppled in 1989.
Last month, al-Mahdi's family
said he had tested positive for COVID-19, and was transferred to the UAE for
treatment a few days later following a brief hospitalisation in Sudan.
In a statement, the Umma Party
said Mahdi would be buried on Friday morning in the city of Omdurman in Sudan.
Mahdi had returned to Sudan in
December 2018, following a year-long self-exile, just as protests over
worsening economic conditions and Bashir's rule gathered steam. His daughter
Mariam Sadiq al-Mahdi, deputy leader of the Umma Party, was among those
detained during the demonstrations.
While a successor to the party
head has not yet been announced, she has been the most visible party leader in
political negotiations and the media in recent years.
Opposition parties were weakened
greatly under Bashir's three-decade regime, and are jostling for power with the
military during Sudan's transition, making the Umma Party's continued unity
crucial to maintaining the balance of power.
After the military forced Bashir
out from power, Mahdi pushed for a transfer to civilian rule, warning in
interviews with Reuters of the risks of a counter-coup and calling for the
powerful, paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to be integrated.
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