Friday, July 26, 2019

Sudan’s Opposition Reach Agreement Paving Way for Formation of Interim Authority
African Union Special Envoy for Sudan El Hacen Labett in a meeting with FFC groups in Addis Ababa on 20 July 2019 (ST Photo)

July 25, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - The political and armed groups of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) have reached an agreement on the political and constitutional documents paving the way for a deal with the military council and the formation of the transitional government.

The FFC groups held consultations meetings from 12 to 23 July to discuss the establishment of a leadership council but also the political and constitutional agreements that define the institutions of the transitional authority and will lead the activities of the transitional government.

During these meetings, the armed groups, which were not involved in the negotiations with the military junta, focused the discussions on their demands to include their positions in the political and constitutional texts and also blamed the allied political groups of their isolation during the past period.

However, their stance was criticized and their demand for 35% of the positions in the three institutions was rejected. Backed by the frustrations of the Sudanese in Khartoum about the delay, the political groups reiterated they pledged to not take part in the collective presidency nor the technocrat government.

Late on Wednesday, reports emerged from Addis Ababa that the FFC groups had finally reached a compromise on the political and constitutional texts for the transitional period.

A communiqué released during the first hours of Thursday confirmed the agreement and referred not only to the peaceful revolution that removed al-Bashir’s regime but also to the "great sacrifices" made by the Sudanese during the thirty years of the "fascist" regime.

The statement reiterated that the priority should be given to the peace process during the transitional period and announced their agreement to form a leadership council for the FFC groups. This Council will allow the armed groups to take part in the decisions of the would-be ruling coalition for the first time.

"According to this agreement, the Sudanese Revolutionary Front has agreed with the Forces for Freedom and Change on the transition to civilian authority and the linking between it and peace issues," said the statement.

It further referred to the controversial 35% quota the SRF demanded that the war-affected region, stressing the need to include the people of the marginalized areas in the transitional process.

"The benefits of peace and the establishment of a democratic civil regime are not related to quotas. They are issues that must be resolved to restructure the Sudanese state and absorb the different Sudanese groups in the political process, especially the margins of Sudan, women and youth," said the statement.

The opposition groups are expected to resume talks on the constitutional declaration on Saturday, according to a statement released in Khartoum on Wednesday.

The resumption of talks will intervene after a failed coup attempt by the supporters of the former regime.

(ST)

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