Abdallah Baraj, the Secretary General of South Sudan Islamic Council  - Courtesy

The High Committee of the South Sudan Islamic Council has re-elected Abdallah Baraj as its Secretary General for a third time on Wednesday after his challengers withdrew from the race in the last minute.

Mr. Baraj was first elected to the mantle of the religious body in January 2018, and will now serve for another three years.

The Islamic Convention that elected him on Wednesday, brought together 500 delegations from the ten states and the three administrative areas.

Baraj has been announced the winner after two other contestants including his former deputy Jari Al-Nabi Mursal and Hussein Mohair relinquished their candidacy for the position.

Juma Faraj, the head of the legal committee announced the election result following the Islamic Council’s Third General Conference held in Juba.

“The Legal Committee presented the three candidates to the general conference, and the other two candidates Jari Al-Nabi Mursal and Hassan Mohair conceded to Sheikh Abdallah Baraj who was announced as the winner of the secretary General position for the third time.”

The Islamic Council was established in March 2010, when the Muslim Community in South Sudan held its first general conference.

According to general estimates, Muslims in South Sudan are estimated to be about 20% of the total population – about 2 million people.