Sudanese parliamentary election, 1968

Sudanese parliamentary election, 1968

12 April & 2 May 1968

All 218 seats to the Parliament   First party Second party Third party   Leader Ismail al-Azhari Sadiq al-Mahdi Imam al-Hadi al-Mahdi Party DUP Umma Party-Sadiq Umma Party-Imam Last election 59 (DUP) 3 (PDP) New New Seats won 101 36 30 Seat change 38 Popular vote 742,226 384,986 329,952 Percentage 40.8% 21.2% 18.1%

Prime Minister before election Muhammad Ahmad Mahgoub Umma Party Elected Prime Minister Muhammad Ahmad Mahgoub Umma Party

Parliamentary elections were held in Sudan between 12 April and 2 May 1968. The election followed the resignation of a third of the members of the Assembly elected in 1965.^[1] The result was a victory for the new Democratic Unionist Party, formed by a merger of the National Unionist Party and the People's Democratic Party in December 1967 and led by President Ismail al-Azhari, which won 101 of the 218 seats. Voter turnout was 61.0%.^[2]

In contrast, since the last election the Umma Party had fractured, with competing wings being led by Sadiq al-Mahdi and Imam al-Hadi al-Mahdi. Whilst Sadiq's Umma party emerged as the stronger of the two wings, Sadiq actually lost his own seat in the election to a rival from the Imam wing.^[3] In total the various Umma party affiliates won some 827,289 votes, or 45.46% of the vote, compared to the 40.8% won by the DUP. The Umma affiliates won only 72 seats, in contrast to the 90 seats won at the previous election.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Democratic Unionist Party	742,226	40.8	101	New
	Umma Party-Sadiq	384,986	21.2	36	New
	Umma Party-Imam	329,952	18.1	30	New
	Independents	70,047	3.9	9	12
	Sudan African National Union	60,493	3.3	15	5
	Islamic Charter Front	44,552	2.5	3	2
	Umma Party	43,288	2.4	6	86
	Southern Front	39,822	2.2	10	New
	Socialist Front	21,814	1.2	0	New
	Socialists	19.690	1.1	0	New
	Beja Congress	15,382	0.9	3	7
	National Unionist Party	10,159	0.6	0	New
	No political affiliation[4]	8,264	0.5	1	New
	Tenants' Union	6,661	0.4	0	New
	Workers' Forces	5,204	0.39	1	New
	Nuba Mountains Union	3,171	0.2	2	New
	Nile Party	2,704	0.2	1	New
	Liberal	1,844	0.1	0	New
	Islamic	1,772	0.1	0	New
	Western Sudan Union	1,695	0.1	0	New
	Sudanese Communist Party[4]	1,652	0.1	0	New
	Democratic South	1,535	0.1	0	New
	Unity	1,478	0.1	0	New
	Workers' Federation	668	0.0	0	New
	Peace	387	0.0	0	New
	Socialist Democrats	220	0.0	0	New
	National Unionist Party-Sadiq	63	0.0	0	New
	Congress of New Forces	33	0.0	0	New
Invalid/blank votes		43,139	–	–	–
Total		1,862,911	100	218	+11
Registered voters/turnout		3,051,118	61.0	–	–
Source: Nohlen et al.

References

1. Sudan Inter-Parliamentary Union
2. Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p855 ISBN 0-19-829645-2
3. Dictionary Of Modern Arab History. Routledge. p. 259.
4. The Sudanese Communist Party had been banned in 1966, and couldn't formally participate in the election. Two candidates were listed in the official election results as 'Communists'. However, the party general secretary Abdel Khaliq Mahjub was elected from Omdurman South but listed by the Election Commission as having 'no political affiliation'. see ARR: Arab Report and Record. Economic Features, Limited. 1968. p. 144., Timothy Niblock (25 November 1987). Class and Power in Sudan: The Dynamics of Sudanese Politics, 1898–1985. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 230. ISBN 978-1-349-08836-2., Peter K. Bechtold (1976). Politics in the Sudan: Parliamentary and Military Rule in an Emerging African Nation. Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated. p. 249. ISBN 978-0-275-22730-2., Robert S. Kramer; Richard Andrew Lobban; Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban (2013). Historical Dictionary of the Sudan. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-8108-6180-0.