Sudan’s pro-democracy movement concludes Constitutional Declaration draft

The legal committee of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) has finalised its comments on the final draft of the Constitutional Declaration. The article on immunity from prosecution for the Sudan Armed Forces and members of the security apparatus has been removed.

The document contains notes on 85 articles and items, Mohamed El Hafiz, lawyer and member of the FCC legal committee told the press in Khartoum on Thursday.

The lawyer explained they are opposed to the planned reform of the army and other forces by the military, stipulating that the operation should be led by a civilian authority.

The FCC further removed the article granting immunity to all leaders of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and of the to be established Sovereign Council. “No leader will enjoy immunity of any kind – neither absolute nor procedural,” El Hafiz emphasised.

He added that the authority of the Sovereign Council should be limited to ceremonial powers only.

Until the formation of the Parliament – at a later stage – the Sovereign Council and the Cabinet will be tasked to carry out legislative functions.

The FCC legal committee insists on full legislative powers for the Parliament which should, in addition to its task of monitoring the executive and judicial powers, carry out reform as well, by establishing commissions for land, law, and election reforms for instance.

According to the committee, the transitional period should immediately begin after the signing of the document.

The Constitutional Declaration, that organises constitutional issues during the transitional period, has not been subject to negotiation before. Earlier this month, the FFC rejected the contents of a leaked version developed by the ruling junta.

Political Agreement

On July 17, the TMC and the FFC signed a Political Agreement that lines out the rule over the country in the coming transitional period of a little more than three years. According to the text of the agreement, the Sovereign Council will consist of 11 members. Five members will be from the military, five will be civilians. The 11th member will be civilian, to be selected by both the TMC and the AFC.

The presidency will rotate. The coming 21 months, the president will be from the military, followed by a civilian for 18 months. Elections will be held after a transitional period of three years and three months.

The cabinet will exist of technocrats, to be selected by the FFC. The formation of the parliament will be discussed in a later stage.

While the international community and the National Umma Party welcomed the deal brokered by the African Union and Ethiopian mediators, the armed movements, displaced people in Darfur, and Sudanese journalists rejected the contents of the document.

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