Editing Omar al-Bashir (section)

===Coup d'état===
{{main|1989 Sudanese coup d'état}}
[[File:Omar al-Bashir 1989.jpg|thumb|Omar al-Bashir in 1989]]

When he returned to Sudan as a colonel in the [[Military of Sudan|Sudanese Army]], al-Bashir led a group of army officers in ousting the unstable coalition government of Prime Minister [[Sadiq al-Mahdi]] in a bloodless [[coup d'état|military coup]] on {{Nowrap|30 June}} 1989.<ref name=reuters-factbox/> Under al-Bashir's leadership, the new military government suspended political parties and introduced an Islamic legal code on the national level.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bekele|first=Yilma|title=Chickens are coming home to roost!|url=http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/2929|work=[[Ethiopian Review]]|date=12 July 2008|access-date=15 July 2008|archive-date=31 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231092713/http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/2929|url-status=live}}</ref> He then became chairman of the [[Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation]] (a newly established body with legislative and executive powers for what was described as a transitional period), and assumed the posts of [[chief of state]], prime minister, chief of the armed forces, and [[Minister of Defence (Sudan)|Minister of Defence]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Cowell|first=Alan|title=Military Coup in Sudan Ousts Civilian Regime|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE4DA103DF932A35754C0A96F948260|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=1 July 1989|access-date=15 July 2008|archive-date=2 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802230109/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE4DA103DF932A35754C0A96F948260|url-status=live}}</ref> Subsequent to al-Bashir's promotion to the chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation, he allied himself with [[Hassan al-Turabi]], the leader of the [[National Islamic Front]], who, along with al-Bashir, began institutionalizing [[Sharia|Sharia law]] in the northern part of Sudan. Further on, al-Bashir issued purges and executions of people whom he alleged to be coup leaders in the upper ranks of the army, the banning of associations, political parties, and independent newspapers, as well as the imprisonment of leading political figures and journalists.<ref>Kepel, ''Jihad'' (2002), p.181</ref>

On 16 October 1993, al-Bashir's increased his power when he appointed himself [[List of Presidents of Sudan|President]] of the country, after which he disbanded the [[Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation]] and all other rival political parties. The executive and legislative powers of the council were later given to al-Bashir completely.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/14/sudan.warcrimes3|work=The Guardian|location=London|title=Profile: Omar al-Bashir|first=Peter|last=Walker|date=14 July 2008|access-date=20 May 2010|archive-date=2 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902130504/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/14/sudan.warcrimes3|url-status=live}}</ref> In the early 1990s, al-Bashir's administration gave the green light to float a new currency called [[Sudanese dinar]] to replace the battered old [[Sudanese pound]] that had lost 90 percent of its worth during the turbulent 1980s; the currency was later changed back to pounds, but at a much higher rate. He was later elected president (with a five-year term) in the [[1996 Sudanese general election|1996 national election]], where he was the only candidate legally allowed to run for election.<ref name="ReferenceB">''New York Times'', {{Nowrap|16 March}} 1996, p.4</ref>