The federal elections remained opposed to the agreement. Najib said to me, "These people," meaning the Unionists, "do not want independence. Will you allow me to persuade them to accept it?" I agreed. Then the men of the Umma Party concluded a "gentleman's agreement" with the Egyptians. It aimed to stop Egyptian interference in Sudan's affairs during the transitional period, halt Egyptian propaganda funds, and generally maintain a free and neutral atmosphere.

I recall that during my visit to Cairo, the Egyptians told me, "We do not object to Sudan's independence, but what can we do about the Sudanese who cooperate with us? They insist on unity or union and threaten war if we accept independence." The Egyptians told me they would increase the funds they pay to the Unionist parties for political propaganda, but there are salaries they pay to the leaders of those parties. Should these also be stopped, despite the harm? I told them, "Assign them tasks and pay them salaries for carrying out those tasks." I also told them, "You only object to Egyptian funds being spent on propaganda in Sudan."

The Egyptians' failure to keep their promise However, the Egyptians did not keep their promise. They violated all the terms of the "gentleman's agreement." When the general elections for the first Sudanese parliament came in 1953, the Egyptians bombarded millions of pounds for propaganda for their supporters. The Umma Party filed complaints to the chairman of the election committee, Mr. Sukumar Sen, and to the Governor-General, to no avail. The Governor-General told me, "This is what you brought upon yourselves, because you agreed with people who do not keep their promises." In this way, the parties loyal to Egypt won a majority of parliamentary seats, even though the number of votes received by the independence parties was several thousand more.

I accepted the election results despite the accusations surrounding them, because what mattered most was the establishment of a national government in the country.

Thus ended Imam Abd al-Rahman's personal notes in this field. 85