Sudan opposition to present junta with candidates for transitional council

Representatives of the Declaration of Freedom and Change, a broad coalition of opposition parties and the major force behind the Sudan Uprising, have agreed to present the interim military council with a list of civilian candidates to serve on a transitional council.

In a statement this afternoon, they said they received a call from the Armed Forces Command for a meeting on Saturday 13 April 2019.

“We have decided to accept the invitation to sit at the negotiating table for the purpose of the transition to a civil authority that will implement the provisions of the Declaration of Freedom and Change in full accordance with the demands of the inevitably victorious Sudanese revolution.”

The delegation consisted of Omar El Degeir, Maryam El Mahdi, Siddig Yousef, Ali El Sanhouri, Mohamed Naji El Asam, Ahmed Rabee, Ayman Khalid, El Tayeb El Abbasi, Hasan Abdelaati, and Madani Abbas Madani.

Candidate list

Speaking to supporters at the sit-in after the meeting at the Sudanese army headquarters in Khartoum, Omar El Degeir, head of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party said: “The president of the military council told us to issue a decision shortly after cancelling all the laws restricting freedoms.

“We asked for a civilian government with full executive powers. We call for the punishment and fair trial of all those involved in corruption and bloodshed.

“We demanded the participation of civilians in the transitional presidential council with the military council in addition to a civilian government, and tomorrow we will provide a list to the head of the military junta.

“We talked about the National Congress Party and told the president of the military council to restore all roles in the party to the Sudanese people

“A message from the group to Abdelfattah Burhan: we tell you that he drew strength from the protesters to remove Ibn Auf.”

Tumultuous days

The talks come after a tumultuous two days. Thursday saw President Omar Al Bashir deposed and arrested, and replaced the military interim council headed by Sudanese Defence Minister, Lt Gen Awad Ahmed Ibn Auf.

However, less than 24 hours after being sworn-in as interim president, Ibn Auf himself stepped-down in favour of the less politically charged Lt Gen Abdelfattah Burhan, Inspector-General of the Armed Forces, who was sworn-in as new interim president on Friday evening.

This morning, it was announced that Salah Abdallah (aka Gosh), director-general of the Sudan’s NISS, has resigned.

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