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Sudan, the Transitional Military-Civilian Council Implemented in Addis Ababa Today

The agreement to implement a transitional council to lead Sudan for the next three years will be signed today. Before leaving for Ethiopia, the Chairman of the Transitional Military Council (TMC), Abdel Fattah al Burhan, made a statement on the al Arabiya broadcasting network declaring that he would, “dissolve his government once the ruling military council is created”, but he also stressed that there are “factions that are against the agreement”, referring to Sudanese rebel groups.

At the moment, despite the agreement reached in the last few days, the military power in Sudan has yet to make concessions with the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) on the candidates the Transitional Military Council has to present to the ruling military council.

Yesterday, the United States government welcomed the agreement reached in Sudan for a joint governing body. “The agreement between the Forces of Freedom and Change and the Transitional Military Council to institute a sovereign council is an important step forward,” reads the statement from the US Department of State. It goes on to say, “We look forward to immediate resumption of access to the internet, establishment of the new legislature, accountability for the violent suppression of peaceful protests, and progress toward free and fair elections.” Adding that Special Envoy for Sudan, Donald Booth would return to the region soon.

The agreement, as reported at the press conference by African Union mediator Mohamed Hassan, was reached in the early hours of last Friday and all the controversial issues were taken into consideration, particularly the formation of the Transitional Military Council, the main bone of contention between the parts, that will be made up of 11 members; five members from each side plus one independent civilian.

Furthermore, based on the agreement, the TMC will chair the sovereign council for 21 consecutive months and then pass it on to the FFC for the remaining 18 months. The parties have agreed on instituting an independent committee supported by the African Union to investigate the bloody massacre on June 3 against the protesters at the Khartoum sit-in. As expected, forming parliament has been postponed for three months for further discussions, however the parties confirmed consensus on the quota: the FFC will have 67% and 33% will go to the remaining forces that participated in the fall of President Omar al Bashir’s regime without joining the coalition. Moreover, the FFC will constitute a government of qualified technocrats responsible for implementing economic and political reforms and preparing for the general elections in 2022.

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