- Khaled Abdel Aziz and Nafisa Al-Taher
Khartoum, Sudan
Reuters
Sudan’s main political alliance on Monday presented its vision of an all-civilian-led authority to lead the transition to elections, after stepping up efforts to end the 11-month stalemate between the ruling army and pro-democracy forces.
A military coup in 2021 ended a power-sharing partnership between the armed forces and the Forces of Freedom and Change coalition, derailed the transition to democratic elections, and plunged the country into political and economic turmoil.
Demonstrators march during a rally against military rule following the latest coup, in Khartoum, Sudan, on July 31. Photo: Reuters/Mohammed Noureddin Abdullah/file photo.
As the anniversary of the takeover approaches, the military has yet to succeed in naming a prime minister.
However, this summer, military leaders said they intended to exit politics. Leaders of the Forces for Freedom and Change said they were told that the military had approved a draft constitution distributed by the Sudanese Bar Association that would allow for civilian rule.
In a statement, the Forces of Freedom and Change presented their vision for what the coalition would seek in any future agreement with the country’s military rulers.
In a proposal likely to provoke criticism from protest groups, the transitional authority will include the participation of rebel groups that remained in the government after the coup, political parties from outside the Forces for Freedom and Change that participated in writing the draft constitution, and union and protest groups.
The resistance committees that led the year-long campaign against military rule oppose negotiations or power-sharing with the army and have rejected the participation of rebel groups or parties that were allied with former President Omar al-Bashir’s National Congress Party.
Under the vision of the Forces of Freedom and Change, the army will withdraw from politics and from the country’s cabinet, while the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, which was the collective head of the state of Sudan, will be entirely civilian and chosen by the “revolutionary forces”.
She added that the transitional parliament will include all parties and groups except for the National Congress Party, and the arrangement will continue for up to two years before the elections.
The Forces for Freedom and Change said the agreement would also allow for security sector reform and a civilian-led Security and Defense Council headed by the prime minister and including representatives from the military and other elements in the security sector.
In a previous statement on Sunday, the Forces for Freedom and Change criticized the arrest of leading member Wajdi Saleh, describing it as “purely political.”
Originally published at San Jose News Bulletin
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