Professionals Association, Umma Party will not join Sudan govt.

Both the Sudanese Professionals Association and the National Umma Party announced on Thursday that they will not take part in the upcoming government, to be established after the signing of the Constitution Declaration on August 17.

The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) said in a statement that it will not be part of the joint military-civilian Sovereign Council and the Cabinet of technocrats, to be selected by the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC). The Sovereign Council will have veto power over the selection of the ministers.

Yet, “after an in-depth study and careful consideration of the role of the professionals in the transitional period [..]” the leaders of the SPA decided they will participate in the Parliament “as an independent supervisory authority”.

The Association’s supervising role however, will not be limited to the presence in the Legislative Council as a watchdog and guard. The group will continue “to contribute to the restoration of rights, development of good governance, and the consolidation of democracy, equality, freedom, peace, and justice”.

The SPA has been the driving force behind the uprising that erupted in Atbara in northern Sudan in mid-December last year. The Association drafted the Declaration of Freedom that was announced in a video message on January 1. The declaration was signed by the Sudanese Professionals Association, the Sudan Call forces, opposition parties allied in the National Consensus Forces, and the Unionist Gathering.

Mobilisation

The National Umma Party (NUP) presided by El Sadig El Mahdi has welcomed the Constitutional Declaration agreed on by the Transitional Military Council and the FFC, saying that the signing of the document on August 17 “will open the way to the formation of transitional institutions”. 

The party reiterated its refusal to participate in the new government. It will only take part in the Parliament.

In a statement on Thursday, the NUP declared “a mobilisation programme for its members to protect the gains of the revolution”.

The opposition party further called for “a fair participation of all the forces that contributed to the uprising, emphasising that no one should be excluded”, and expressed it concern about “the discrepancy” in the political agreements regarding the party's allies in the Sudan Revolutionary Front, and stated that “We will work to overcome it as soon as possible”.

It reaffirmed its commitment “to the requirements for the peace agreement in accordance with the arrangements for the first phase of the transitional period”.

‘Excluded’

After the junta and the FFC concluded the final text of the Political Charter on July 5, the SRF said it can not accept the accord, calling it “just a contract concluded with the security forces to hit the [armed] movements and oppress the regions in the margin through a so-called civilian legitimacy”.

Malik Agar, head of the Blue Nile faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N Agar) and member of the SRF, called for an urgent meeting of the FFC “to consolidate the unity of the Sudanese opposition” and “to link the democratic transition to a just peace”.

Delegations of the FFC and the SRF met in the Ethiopian capital in the last week of July. They discussed a number of contentious issues concerning the peace-making process. On July 25, they reached the Addis Ababa Agreement.

According to a joint statement, the two parties agreed that the first task of the new, transitional, government must be to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement.

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