The Sudan Handbook

172 thE sudan handbook

later amendments of the NCP statutes, the post of secretary-general was

abolished altogether and replaced by two vice-chairpersons. Initially,

there was some competition between the NCP and PCP over the loyalty

of the core Islamist constituency. In the course of time, however, the

majority have come to support the NCP, either on grounds of a principled

choice or on account of the NCP’s control of the state. In the elections

of 2010, the PCP was a rather insignificant opposition party.

Transformation of the State

The post-colonial Sudanese state inherited from the colonial state a

two-tier administrative system (combining direct rule and native admin-

istration) and an economy dominated by the public sector. This structure

remained intact with limited changes until the second military takeover

of Jaafar Nimeiri in 1969. Under Nimeiri’s regime (1969–85), the Sudanese

state underwent significant structural changes. During its populist phase

(1969–75), Nimeiri’s regime proceeded to establish a one-party state and

a presidential republic; local government was reformed by abolishing

native administration and by the establishment of a pyramidal skeleton

linking local structures with national decision making bodies. In the

economic field, Nimeiri’s regime, during its early years in power, took

measures to nationalize foreign banks and companies, replacing them

with public corporations. These measures, coupled with the ambitious

development projects pursued by the regime, expanded the public sector

and further enhanced the economic role of the state.

Nonetheless, the way the political system evolved under Nimeiri’s

regime – which degenerated into a ‘one-man rule’ – eventually weakened

the state and led to the destruction of its institutions. The third parlia-

mentary regime, which succeeded Nimeiri’s, inherited a state structure

damaged by the impact of a protracted dictatorial regime, a highly politi-

cized army and civil service, and a weakened judiciary. Given the scale

of problems confronting the elected civilian government and its failure

to tackle them or to attend to reforming the state machinery at central

The Sudan Handbook, edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok. © 2011 Rift Valley Institute and contributors or regional levels, the fragile state structure went into decline. The state

(www.riftvalley.net).