Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan
conventional short form: Sudan
local short form: As-Sudan
local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan
former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
Government type:
authoritarian regime - ruling military junta took power in 1989;
government is run by an alliance of the military and the National
Congress Party (NCP), formerly the National Islamic Front (NIF),
which espouses an Islamist platform
Capital:
Khartoum
Administrative divisions:
26 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al
Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah,
An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal,
Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb
Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan, Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an
Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur, Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al
Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab
Independence:
1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 1 January (1956)
Constitution:
12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim
constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June
1989; new constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially
suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR
Legal system:
based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991,
the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in
the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the
northern states regardless of their religion; some separate
religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations
Suffrage:
17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR
(since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad
TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR
(since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of
state and head of government
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA 2005)
note: Lt. Gen. al-BASHIR assumed supreme executive power in 1989 and
retained it through several transitional governments in the early
and mid-1990s before being popularly elected for the first time in
March 1996
election results: Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected
president; percent of vote - Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%,
Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received a
combined vote of 3.9%; election widely viewed as rigged; all popular
opposition parties boycotted elections because of a lack of
guarantees for a free and fair election
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the
National Congress Party or NCP (formerly the National Islamic Front
or NIF) dominates al-BASHIR's cabinet
head of government: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR
(since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad
TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR
(since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of
state and head of government