The Appointed Day: Then the government and opposition parties began to prepare the country for the appointed day, which was the day when the self-governing bodies, the Council of Ministers and the Senate, would be completed. It was decided that the date for the convening of the Parliament would be the first day of January 1954, to achieve this goal.

On the last day of 1953, one day before the convening of Parliament, Imam Abd al-Rahman invited the opposition deputies from various parties to a meeting at his residence in Khartoum. He delivered a speech to them, the most important paragraphs of which we will record in this chapter, as it was truly the political constitution that the country followed until independence was achieved. The speech stated: "Self-governance honors some of you with membership in its parliament, which will convene tomorrow. It is the fruit of continuous, dedicated efforts, where the free elements of the Sudanese people have been able to achieve since the beginning of overt political alignment during World War I. When Turkey relinquished its sovereignty over the territories that were under its rule, and that sovereignty was returned to the peoples of those territories, the sovereignty of Sudan remained suspended between the two ruling powers of the condominium.

Since that time, we have called for Sudan for the Sudanese, and we have all struggled, each to the best of his ability, until, thanks to the combined efforts, we have reached this blessed step of full self-governance.

Today, we stand on the threshold of the first Sudanese Parliament, confident in what we have achieved, and united with those who have passed and brothers who cooperated with us, who were sincere in their desire to bring their country to full independence.

We are now entering a decisive phase in the country's affairs. There is no doubt that the proponents of independence among the Sudanese, whether they are members of the independence parties or independent of them, feel the great responsibility placed upon their shoulders. There is no doubt that they have realized the extent of their shortcomings in the last election campaign and regret that they have missed much of the country's progress due to their disunity. I hope that this feeling, mixed with a spirit of sincerity, will be sufficient to unite the ranks of the independentists into one solid front, inside and outside Parliament, to drive the wheel of progress and protect the voice of the Sudanese people. Foreign intervention and pave the way for the establishment of a democratic Sudanese state. Independence, the vanguard of action, in accordance with the glory of Sudan and the interests of the Sudanese people.

The position of my sons, the deputies and sheikhs of the Southern Provinces, who are among you now, is a serious one that fills the soul with pride in the character of the Sudanese people and reassures those who aspire to be like them about the future of this beloved homeland.

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