Sudan on Wednesday swore in members of a council that will rule for the next three years, the first concrete step toward implementing a landmark power-sharing agreement reached between the military and a protest movement that forced authoritarian ruler Omar Al Bashir from office in April.
Gen Abdel-Fattah Al Burhan, chairman of the Transitional Military Council that ruled Sudan since Mr Al Bashir’s removal, was first sworn in as head of the 11-member Sovereignty Council that will function as a collective presidency until November 2022. Several hours later, nine members of the council were sworn in by Gen Al Burhan himself at the presidential palace in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.
The nine included four generals and five civilians. The civilians included two women, one of them, Nicola Abdel-Maseeh, is Christian. The 11th member, Mohammed Al-Taayshi, lives in Britain and will be sworn in upon his return later this week.
The swearing-in of the Sovereign Council spelt the end of the transitional military council and signalled the beginning of a rare formal partnership between the military and the opposition that, in theory, will last until late 2022 when free elections are held.
The creation of the Sovereign Council is part of an agreement reached earlier this month and signed at a high-profile ceremony held amid jubilant street celebrations and a wave of optimism on August 17. The agreement outlines a roadmap for Sudan’s transition to civilian rule, including a government of technocrats and a 300-seat legislature to be created in the next three months.
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Sudanese protesters run for cover from tear gas canisters fired by police outside the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum on April 6, 2019. AFP -
Sudanese protesters rally in front of the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum on April 8, 2019. AFP -
Alaa Salah, a Sudanese woman propelled to internet fame earlier this week after clips went viral of her leading powerful protest chants against President Omar Al Bashir, addresses protesters during a demonstration in front of the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum on April 10, 2019. AFP -
Sudanese judges, dressed in their robes, gather for a "million-strong" march outside the army headquarters in the capital Khartoum on April 25, 2019. AFP -
A Sudanese anti-regime protester kisses a soldier on the head during protests on April 11, 2019 in the area around the army headquarters in Sudan's capital Khartoum. AFP -
Sudanese demonstrators march with national flags as they gather during a rally demanding a civilian body to lead the transition to democracy. AFP -
Protesters massed outside the army complex in central Khartoum on April 6, initially to demand the overthrow of longtime leader Omar Al Bashir. AFP -
Sudanese protesters gather outside the army headquarters in Khartoum on May 6, 2019. AFP -
Sudanese protesters burn tyres as they block Nile Street for the second consecutive day during continuing protests in Sudan's capital Khartoum on May 13, 2019. AFP -
Sudanese protesters wave flags and flash victory signs as they gather for a sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum on May 19, 2019. AFP -
A Sudanese health worker carries a placard as scores of medics hold a rally in front of a hospital in the capital Khartoum on May 23, 2019. AFP -
Sudanese supporters of the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) hold up a sign showing a portrait of its head General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan with a caption below reading in Arabic "we have delegated you Burhan, we want no president but you", during a rally in the centre of the capital Khartoum on May 31, 2019. AFP -
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Himediti, deputy head of Sudan's ruling Transitional Military Council and commander of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries, waves a baton to supporters on a vehicle as he arrives for a rally in the village of Abraq, about 60 kilometres northwest of Khartoum, on June 22, 2019. AFP -
Sudanese protestors celebrate in the streets of Khartoum after ruling generals and protest leaders announced they have reached an agreement on the disputed issue of a new governing body on July 5, 2019. AFP -
Thousands went to the streets to welcome the agreement on Saturday. AFP -
Sudanese protesters take part in a vigil in the capital Khartoum to mourn dozens of demonstrators killed last month in a raid on a Khartoum sit-in. AFP -
Sudanese protesters gather during Friday noon prayers outside the army headquarters in Khartoum on May 3, 2019, as they continue to protest demanding that the ruling military council hand power to a civilian administration. AFP -
Sudanese civilians from other provinces ride on the train to join in the celebrations of the signing of Sudan's power-sharing deal. Reuters -
Sudan's Forces of Freedom and Change coalition leader Ahmad Rabiah (3-R) and Sudan's General and Vice President of Sudanese Transitional Military Council, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (2-R) sign power-sharing agreement,. EPA -
Sudan's Head of Transitional Military Council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and Sudan's opposition alliance coalition's leader Ahmad Rabiah, celebrate the signing of the power-sharing deal, that paves the way for a transitional government, and eventual elections. Reuters -
epa07783624 Leader of Sudan's transitional council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan (R) is sworn in as the Head of the newly formed transitional Council at the presidential palace in Khartoum, Sudan, 21 August 2019. The Sudanese opposition and military council signed on 17 August a power sharing agreement. The agreement sets up a sovereign council made of five generals and six civilians, to rule the country until general elections. Protests had erupted in Sudan at the end of 2018, culminating in a long sit-in outside the army headquarters which ended with more than one hundred people being killed and others injured. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir stepped down on 11 April 2019. EPA/STRINGER -
A pictured released by Sudan's Presidential Palace shows General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan's ruling military council, during a swearing in ceremony in Khartoum on August 21, 2019. Burhan was sworn today as chairman of Sudan's new sovereign council that will steer the country through a three-year transition to civilian rule. "General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdel Rahman was sworn in as president of the sovereign council," the official SUNA news agency reported. / AFP / SUDAN PRESIDENTIAL PALACE / - / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / SUDAN PRESIDENTAIL PALACE" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS -
A picture released by Sudan's Presidential Palace shows General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan's ruling military council, during a swearing in ceremony in Khartoum on August 21, 2019. Burhan was sworn today as chairman of Sudan's new sovereign council that will steer the country through a three-year transition to civilian rule. "General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdel Rahman was sworn in as president of the sovereign council," the official SUNA news agency reported. / AFP / SUDAN PRESIDENTIAL PALACE / - / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / SUDAN PRESIDENTAIL PALACE" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS -
A picture released by Sudan's Presidential Palace shows General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (C-R), the head of Sudan's ruling military council, standing during a swearing in of the new sovereign council, in Khartoum on August 21, 2019. Sudan took further steps in its transition towards civilian rule today with the swearing in of a new sovereign council, to be followed by the appointment of a prime minister. The body replaces the Transitional Military Council (TMC) that took charge after months of deadly street protests brought down longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in April. Burhan, who already headed the TMC, was sworn in as the chairman of the new sovereign council in the morning. / AFP / SUDAN PRESIDENTIAL PALACE / - / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / SUDAN PRESIDENTAIL PALACE" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS -
epa07784051 Members of Sudan's newly formed transitional Council (R-L) General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Hassan Sheikh Idris, Genereal Ibrahim Jaber, Raja Nicola Issa Abdul-Masseh, General Shams al-Din Kabashi, Aisha Moussa, Mohamed Alfaki, General Yasser al-Atta and Sadeek Tawer look on during their sweaing-in ceremony at the presidential palace in Khartoum, Sudan, 21 August 2019. The Sudanese opposition and military council signed on 17 August a power sharing agreement. The agreement sets up a sovereign council made of five generals and six civilians, to rule the country until general elections. Protests had erupted in Sudan at the end of 2018, culminating in a long sit-in outside the army headquarters which ended with more than one hundred people being killed and others injured. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir stepped down on 11 April 2019. EPA/MORWAN ALI -
Demonstrators march with banners and the old (L) and current (R) flags of Sudan outside a courthouse complex in the capital's twin city of Omdurman on August 21, 2019 during the trial of 40 members of Sudan's now-dissolved National Intelligence and Security Service facing charges over the death in custody of Ahmed al-Kheir, a teacher from the eastern town of Khashma el-Girba, in the early days of the wave of nationwide protests that eventually brought longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir. / AFP / Ahmed Mustafa -
epa07784904 Sudan's new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (L) swears in during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Khartoum, Sudan, 21 August 2019. The Sudanese opposition and military council signed on 17 August a power sharing agreement. The agreement sets up a sovereign council made of five generals and six civilians, to rule the country until general elections. Protests had erupted in Sudan in December 2018, culminating in a long sit-in outside the army headquarters which ended with more than one hundred people being killed and others injured. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir stepped down on 11 April 2019. EPA/MARWAN ALI -
epa07784903 Sudan's new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (L) shakes hands with Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan (R) after being sworn in during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Khartoum, Sudan, 21 August 2019. The Sudanese opposition and military council signed on 17 August a power sharing agreement. The agreement sets up a sovereign council made of five generals and six civilians, to rule the country until general elections. Protests had erupted in Sudan in December 2018, culminating in a long sit-in outside the army headquarters which ended with more than one hundred people being killed and others injured. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir stepped down on 11 April 2019. EPA/MARWAN ALI -
Sudan's new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok speaks duringa press conference in Khartoum, Sudan, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. (AP Photo)
Gen Al Burhan will chair the Sovereignty Council for 21 months, after which a civilian will take over for 18 months.
The nominee for prime minister, economist Abdullah Hamdouk, was scheduled to be sworn in later on Wednesday. Hundreds, many waving Sudanese flags, gathered outside the arrival hall at Khartoum airport to greet him on arrival.
Mr Al Bashir was removed from power by the military on April 11 following four months of street protests against his 29-year, Islamist rule. An alliance of political parties, rebel groups and professional unions borne out of these protests – the Forces of Freedom and Change – negotiated with the military for months in a tortuous process that on occasion looked on the brink of collapse.
The violent break-up by security forces of a sit-in encampment outside the headquarters of the armed forces in Khartoum on June 3 drew a sharp response from the Forces of Freedom and Change, which pulled out of the negotiations. The opposition says nearly 130 were killed in the break-up of the sit-in and that scores remain missing. The power-sharing agreement provides for a thorough and transparent probe into the violence.
The talks resumed following intense, behind-the-scenes mediation by diplomats from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain and the United States. Later, envoys from the African Union and neighbouring Ethiopia helped the two sides reach an agreement.
The nomination of two women to the Sovereign Council has been interpreted as a glimpse of a “new Sudan” where inclusion and equality are envisioned to replace the divisions and bitterness created by three decades of war and disenfranchisement under Mr Al Bashir’s tutelage.
Significantly, the Christian member of the council, government legal adviser Ms Abdel-Maseeh, was jointly selected by the generals and the Forces of Freedom and Change. The other female council member is Aisha Al Saeed, who has had a career in education and is a veteran civil society activist.
The transition administration faces a host of serious challenges, including negotiating an end to long-running conflicts in western and southern Sudan. There is also the daunting task of dismantling the “deep state” of regime loyalists planted by Mr Al Bashir over the past 30 years in government, the armed forces and security agencies.
Perilously, overhauling the ailing economy will likely entail the gradual removal of state subsidies on basic commodities like fuel and bread. Past attempts to enact such reforms have been met by street protests. Improving the economy will also likely necessitate an equally sensitive measure: Reducing the massive defence and security budgets that Mr Al Bashir happily sanctioned to maintain his grip on power.
“It’s a revolution and people are expecting milk and honey but, at least in the short term, they will instead get pain,” said a top Western diplomat in Khartoum, alluding to the wave of price hikes likely to follow subsidy cuts.
Ending armed conflicts and effectively eradicating the country’s legendary corruption would likely ease the crunch but, according to the diplomat, continuing emergency aid from Sudan’s backers in the Gulf region is essential to keep the economy afloat in the near and medium future.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia already provided Sudan with $3 billion (Dh11bn) in emergency aid soon after Mr Al Bashir’s removal. Of the $3 billion, $500 million were deposited in the Central Bank to boost foreign currency reserves, while the remainder is being used to finance imports of fuel and basic foodstuffs.
