Sudan’s military reach deal to reinstate ousted prime minister

Sudan’s ousted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was reinstated on Sunday after signing a political agreement with the military.

The deal, signed by Hamdok and Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the ruling military council, puts an end to a weeks-long crisis that threatened to undermine Sudan’s political transition.

The 14-point agreement stipulates that a 2019 political declaration will be the basis for transition in Sudan and that elections will be held in 2023 as scheduled. It also provides for the prime minister to form a “technocrat Cabinet”.

The agreement also calls for the formation of all transitional institutions, including the legislative assembly and the constitutional court, and the appointment of attorney-general and chief justice.

Addressing the signing ceremony in Khartoum, Hamdok said the political agreement will correct the path of the revolution and political transition in Sudan.

“Signing this framework political agreement will open the door to address all the pending issues of the transitional period over the past two years and under this partnership we have managed to achieve a lot,” Hamdok said.

“We have brought Sudan back into the international community, lifted its name from the terrorist blacklist and many other achievements. However, we still have many challenges laying ahead,” he added.

Al-Burhan, for his part, said the agreement was the first step to solve the crisis facing political transition in Sudan.

He added that dialogue will be held with all political parties in Sudan, except the former ruling party of ousted President Omar al-Bashir, on the country’s political transition.

Ahead of the signing ceremony, the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), Sudan’s main civilian coalition that had shared power with the military, said it does not recognize the deal to reinstate Hamdok.

“We affirm our clear and previously announced position: no negotiation, no partnership and no legitimacy for the putchists,” the FFC said in a statement.

On Oct. 25, al-Burhan declared a state of emergency and dissolved the transitional Sovereign Council and government amid rival protests and accusations between the military and politicians in the country.

Al-Burhan argued that the measures were meant to protect the country from “imminent danger” and accused those rejecting his move as “stirring chaos.”

Before the military takeover, Sudan was administered by a sovereign council of military and civilian officials which was overseeing the transition period until elections are held in 2023 as part of a power-sharing pact between the military and FFC.