The party emerged from a split within the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in 1999, due to differences between Turabi and President Omar al-Bashir.[1] The party is one of the most outspoken against the NCP, advocating a popular uprising to overthrow the government.[2] The party relies heavily on displaced Western Sudanese living in Khartoum's shanty towns for support.[1]
Al-Turabi had a falling out with al-Bashir in 1999, when al-Turabi again began to spend time in jail or under house arrest.[4] The power struggle between al-Bashir and al-Turabi resulted in al-Turabi’s expulsion from the NCP.[4] As a consequence, al-Turabi established the PCP (initially called the Popular National Congress) in August 2000 in opposition to the NCP.[4]
After al-Turabi created the PCP, al-Bashir’s security forces regularly harassed its meetings and arrested participants.[4] In February 2001, the PCP signed a “memorandum of understanding” in Geneva with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.[4] Among other things, the memorandum noted that self-determination is a legitimate right of the people of South Sudan.[4] Al-Turabi saw the memorandum as a way to undermine al-Bashir and improve his own position; it resulted in al-Turabi’s arrest.[4] After three months in prison, the government released al-Turabi from prison and put him under house arrest.[4] PCP activity virtually came to a halt; al-Bashir dropped charges against PCP supporters near the end of 2001.[4] Released from detention, al-Turabi was rearrested in March 2003 on charges of masterminding a coup attempt.[4] The government dismissed these charges against al-Turabi and the PCP in December 2004 but continued to keep him in detention and banned party activity.[4] Al-Turabi managed, however, to have a significant impact on political developments in Sudan from jail or house arrest and eventually was released.[4] There is strong evidence that the PCP established an alliance with the rebel Justice and Equality Movement in Darfur in order to put additional pressure on the government.[4] In the flawed April 2010 elections, the PCP candidate for president, Abdullah Deng Nhial, a Muslim from the Dinka tribe, received only 4 percent of the vote.[4]
The party newspaper, Ray al-Shaab, has been banned since 2012.[5]
