It was formerly led by Sadiq al-Mahdi,[1] who served twice as Prime Minister of Sudan, and was removed once by inter party conflict and once by a military coup.

However, rumors held that al-Umma had been created by the government and aimed to place Abd al-Rahman in power.

[3] During his premiership, Abdalla Khalil and several senior Umma officials instigated the 1958 Sudanese coup d'état, led by General Ibrahim Abboud.

In 2010, the National Umma Party nominated Sadiq al-Mahdi as its presidential candidate in protest of 'electoral irregularities'.

UPCL became part of the government and agreed to continue cooperation with Sudan's ruling National Congress Party in the mid-interim period after 2008.

As a component of the National Consensus Forces (NCF) that signed Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) charter on 1 January 2019,[7] the Umma Party was integrated into the FFC alliance that coordinated the Sudanese Revolution and holds a strong constitutional role in the 39-month transitionary period to democracy.