By Mohammed Amin

KHARTOUM, Sudan

President Omar al-Bashir has stepped down from the chairmanship of Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP), the party said in a Friday statement.

The move was announced after a lengthy meeting of the party’s political bureau, which wrapped up early Friday morning.

According to the statement, Ahmed Haroun, a former governor of Sudan’s South Kordofan State, will serve as acting chairman until a permanent party chief is appointed at the NCP’s next general congress.

“The party has accepted the president’s decision to transfer his responsibilities as NCP leader to his deputy, Ahmed Haroun,” the statement read.

“We believe this initiative… will contribute to the country’s security and stability,” it added.

Haroun served as governor of South Kordofan until 2014. Before that, he had served as humanitarian affairs minister and as a minister of state in Sudan’s Interior Ministry.

In 2007, Haroun was indicted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s Darfur region.