Sudan Dialogue members agree on Prime Minister procedure

The Political Secretary of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) announced in Khartoum on Saturday that the members of the National Dialogue have accepted the stance of the NCP concerning the way of selecting a Prime Minister in the upcoming government.

The post of Prime Minister will be created prior to the establishment of the new government. The NCP wanted the Prime Minister to be chosen by the Sudanese President, while members of the opposition within the Dialogue preferred a selection based on “national consensus”.

Political Secretary Hamid Mumtaz said that the Prime Minister “will be appointed and dismissed by the President of the Republic”. He will be held accountable by the Federal Parliament.

The new government, a Government of National Reconciliation, will be formed by the NCP in consultation with the other members of the National Dialogue.

Mumtaz anticipated the abolition of the post of Second Vice-President. The function was stipulated in the 2011 Doha Document for Peace in Darfur that ended in August.

He said that the date of 10 October scheduled for the General Conference that will conclude the National Dialogue can always be adjusted “for the country's interest”.

In early 2014, President Omar Al Bashir proposed a national dialogue to discuss all the pressing issues in the country. He called on all the opposition parties and armed movements to join the platform as well. The initiative however faced serious setbacks because of the government’s refusal to create a suitable atmosphere by restoring civil liberties in the country. Several opposition forces subsequently withdrew from the dialogue.

Invited

Five African leaders have positively reacted to Sudan's invitation to attend the concluding sessions of the National Dialogue on 10 October.

Foreign Affairs Minister Ibrahim Ghandour told the press in Khartoum on Sunday that Chadian President Idris Deby, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, Egyptian President Abdelfattah El Sisi, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will attend the conference.

Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairwoman of the Commission of the African Union (AU), the heads of the Arab League, and Islamic Cooperation Organisation will attend the ceremony as well, together with representatives from the Russian and Chinese governments.