The Southern Sudan Federal Party was a short-lived political party in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, formed in 1957. It was successful in the 1958 parliamentary elections, but left parliament when it was clear that its

federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

constitutional proposals would be rejected, and shortly afterwards broke up. Sudan gained independence in January 1956, with elections scheduled for February-March 1958. In 1957

Ezboni Mondiri Ezboni Mondiri Gwanza was a politician in Southern Sudan. He was one of the founders of the Southern Sudan Federal Party (SSFP) in 1957, which competed in the Sudanese parliamentary election in 1958. Later he was active in secessionist movements. ...

and other young intellectuals and university graduates from the south decided to found a party to advocate policies needed by the south. Father

Saturnino Lohure Hilangi Saturnino Ohure Hilangi, or Saturnino Lohure (c. 1921 – 22 January 1967) was a Roman Catholic priest and a politician who played an important role in the early movement for secession of South Sudan. Saturnino Ohure was of Lotuho people, Lotuh ...

was another founder. The founders called the party the Southern Federal Party, Federal Party and the Federalist Party. The party constitution laid out principles that included calling for an equal federation of northern and southern states, with

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

given equal recognition. The state would be secular, with

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

recognized as the two major religions but respecting other religions. The south would have a separate civil service, educational system and army. The Federal Party formed a united front with the Anti-Imperialist Front (AIF). The incumbent prime minister

Ismail al-Azhari Ismail al-Azhari (; October 20, 1900 – August 26, 1969) was a Sudanese nationalist and political figure. He served as the first Prime Minister of Sudan between 1954 and 1956, and as List of heads of state of Sudan, Head of State of Sudan from ...

also formed bonds with the Federals and the unions. In the February 1958 elections the Federalists won forty parliamentary seats out of the forty six allocated to the south. The party platform represented a serious challenge to the authorities. However, when it became clear that the Federal demands would be ignored by the Constituent Assembly, on 16 June 1958 the southern MPs left parliament. The government arrested Mondiri and the SSFP broke up. In its place, Father Saturnino formed the Southern Block, with 25 members. In November 1958 General

Ibrahim Abboud Ibrahim Abboud (; 26 October 1900 – 8 September 1983) was a Sudanese military officer and political figure who served as the head of state of Sudan between 1958 and 1964 and as President of Sudan in 1964; however, he soon resigned, ending S ...

seized power and dissolved parliament.

References

{{reflist , refs= {{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uPyUCHiik5sC&pg=PA170 , page=170 , title=Manichaean delirium: decolonizing the judiciary and Islamic renewal in Sudan, 1898-1985 , author=Abdullahi Ali Ibrahim , publisher=BRILL , year=2008 , isbn=978-90-04-14110-0 {{cite web , url = http://johnyoh.com/pdf/Foreign%20policy%20trends%20in%20Southern%20Sudan.pdf?PHPSESSID=r1femrjaitc5ennhn2jls9o4q4 , title = NOTES ON FOREIGN POLICY TRENDS OF SOUTHERN SUDAN POLITICAL AND MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS AND PARTIES (1940s-1972) , last = Nyuot Yoh , first = John G. , pages = 16–17 , date = 19 July – 28 August 2005 , access-date = 2011-08-20 , url-status = dead , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120330235949/http://johnyoh.com/pdf/Foreign%20policy%20trends%20in%20Southern%20Sudan.pdf?PHPSESSID=r1femrjaitc5ennhn2jls9o4q4 , archive-date = 30 March 2012 .{{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0lSH6-0HRaYC&pg=PA243 , page=243 , title=Case studies on human rights and fundamental freedoms: a world survey, Volume 4 , last1=Veenhoven , first1=Willem Adriaan, first2=Winifred Crum , last2=Ewing , publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers , year=1977 , isbn=90-247-1956-9 {{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T7aht1_gXSgC&pg=PA105 , page=105 , title=Islam, nationalism and communism in a traditional society: the case of Sudan , author=

Gabriel Warburg Gabriel R. Warburg (born in 1927) is a German-Israeli historian specialising in the modern history of Sudan and Egypt. Biography Warburg was born in 1927 in Berlin. In 1933, he emigrated with his family to Haifa, then under the British Mandate f ...

, publisher=Routledge , year=1978 , isbn=0-7146-3080-2 Defunct political parties in South Sudan