First Transitional Partners Council meeting held in Khartoum

The Transitional Partners Council (TPC) held its first session at the Republican Palace in Khartoum yesterday to clarify working regulations, according to amendments made to the Constitutional Document under the Juba Peace Agreement, signed on October 3.

The first session of the TPC was chaired by Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok, and representatives of the parties to the political agreement and the parties to the peace process.

The council’s spokesperson, Maryam El Sadig, daughter of the late El Sadig El Mahdi, said that the council is currently issuing internal regulations to organise work.

She explained in a press briefing that “the approved regulations define the competences and powers of the TPC in supporting the institutions of the transitional period to serve the supreme interests of Sudan, to mobilise the necessary support to ensure the success of the transitional period, and coordinate relations between the partners of the transitional period, and for the council to be a reference in resolving differences in viewpoints between the various parties.”

El Sadig explained that the decisions of the TPC are binding for all parties without prejudice to other authorities of the transitional period.

“The TPC is voluntary and its members do not enjoy any financial benefits from the state.”

– Maryam El Sadig El Mahdi

She urged the Sovereign Council and the Council of Ministers to reform as quickly as possible, and for the establishment of the Legislative Council, governors, national commissions, and mechanisms and structures needed to implement the peace agreement to be expedited. The Legislative Council is due to be formed on December 31 following a series of delays.

She emphasised that a text in the bylaws has been issued, confirming that “working in the TPC is voluntary and its members do not enjoy any financial benefits from the state.”

Peace agreement

Ambassadors and representatives of the European Union countries in Khartoum will work to provide funding to implement the peace agreement despite the economic difficulties facing the global economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) said in a press statement yesterday.

A delegation of the JEM, led by the leader of the movement, Jibril Ibrahim, met with the ambassadors of the European Union to discuss the need to start implementing the peace agreement by forming its mechanisms, forming the Legislative Council, and the new government.

The meeting dealt with a number of issues, including the delay in forming mechanisms to implement the Juba Peace Agreement, the security situation in Darfur, the protection of civilians after the exit of the UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on December 31, in addition to integrating the forces of the rebel movements into the regular forces and their social reintegration, the appointment of new members of the Sovereign Council, the formation of the new transitional government, and the appointment of members of the Legislative Council.

Clarification of TPC role

The TPC consists of 29 members, including the prime minister. 13 seats have been allocated to the Forces for Freedom and Change, nine to the Sudan Revolutionary Front, and six to Sudan’s military.

Hafiz Ismail, economist and political analyst, explained in an interview with Radio Dabanga on Saturday that the idea of a partners council has its roots in the Juba peace talks between the government and the rebel movements, following fierce criticism of its formation.

The new article 80 in the amended Constitutional Document stipulates the formation of a new council “with a very vague role, broader than the current Sovereign Council”. 

Ismail explained that, according to the amended Constitutional Document, the Partners Council is supposed to function as an adjudicator in case of any dispute or disagreement concerning the interpretation of the terms of the Juba Peace Agreement. Its role thus is that of an independent mediator in case of conflict.

“The Partners Council is not supposed to take over the role of the Sovereign Council but [according to El Burhan’s current plans] it seems that it will have more power,” the analyst stated. 

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