The SCP’s Privilege During the Transitional Period and Its Exploitation of Empowerment Opportunities

By Dr. Mohamed Hassan Mahjoub
Like other political forces, the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) faced significant challenges during Sudan’s transitional period. However, that period also witnessed various accusations regarding the party’s privileged position and its exploitation of empowerment opportunities. The main aspects of this privilege can be summarized as follows:
Accusations of Exploitation
The SCP is accused of using its influence during the transitional period to consolidate its political position, gain a foothold in state and societal institutions, and secure strategic civil, military, and security positions for its members.
Though the SCP tried to deny and obscure these accusations—emphasizing its commitment to collective action for the goals of the Sudanese revolution and claiming to serve the people, not partisan interests—critics argue that the reality was otherwise.
Community Empowerment Tactics
The party also worked on community-level empowerment by forming Resistance Committees in cities and neighbourhoods. These attracted large numbers of youth drawn in by the party’s appealing slogans, including unemployed youth and marginalized groups. The SCP allegedly used these youth as its eyes within society and as fuel for demonstrations, labeling them the “Teroos” (a term used for front-line protestors).
Political Conflicts and Divisions
The transitional period was marred by severe political infighting between various factions of the revolutionary forces, with the SCP playing an active role. These conflicts exposed internal plots and rivalries and further inflamed tensions.
Impact of Economic Deterioration
The worsening economic situation affected all political groups, including the SCP, and increased the political tensions within the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition. The SCP, though facing these challenges, managed to achieve many of its direct objectives, capitalizing on internal rifts within the coalition.
It is claimed the party secretly devised strategies to enhance its empowerment and successfully secured key positions in civil, military, security, diplomatic, and health institutions. These alleged actions deepened Sudan’s current political, security, and economic crises.
Need for Accountability and Reform
It is therefore crucial to review reports and documentation that assess the SCP’s privileges and empowerment during the transitional period. Such an assessment would support a comprehensive analysis that considers diverse viewpoints and the political-economic context of the time. This would also help in proposing solutions to dismantle the distorted and destructive empowerment structures, which allegedly served narrow party interests—namely, those of the Communist Party—rather than Sudan’s national interest.
The article concludes by linking the SCP’s strategy to its failure to seize power militarily, referencing the 1971 communist coup attempt, and suggests that the party now sought to seize civilian control of the state through political maneuvering and exploitation of opportunities.

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