Sunday, May 26, 2019

Sudan’s Opposition Works to Unify Positions Over Sovereign Council
Freedom and Change forces and military council meet at the Sudanese presidency in Khartoum on 27 April 2019 (ST photo)

May 24, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) and Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) Friday reiterated their commitment to the unity of the opposition forces and called for a civilian-led sovereign council.

Also, following a meeting held in Vienna on Friday, the Sudan Call groups called to prioritize Sudan’s interest and stability in the talks with the military council over the transitional institutions.

Talks on the 11-member council are deadlocked as the TMC claims seven military members in addition to the presidency while the opposition, on the other hand, says they want 8 seats including the presidency and the number of general should be limited to three.

The disputed Sovereign Council, according to an agreement reached by the two sides, has limited powers, but the Forces for Freedom and Change say having a civilian at the head of the collegial presidency is significant because it symbolizes the regime change in Sudan.

"With regard to the negotiation on the representation within the Sovereign Council, the two sides insisted on their adherence to a civilian majority and a military representation," said the two opposition parties in a joint statement.

The two sides stressed their keenness in the unity of the Declaration of the Force of Freedom and Change, added the statement.

Also, the joint statement said the two parties decided to address the negative aspects that appeared in the media performances of the FFC and to unify the political discourse of the opposition coalition.

The SCP was criticized recently by the opposition groups including the SCoP for issuing a unilateral statement about the ongoing talks with the military council over power handover.

Talks on the 11-member council are deadlocked as the TMC claims seven military members in addition to the presidency while the opposition, on the other hand, says they want 8 seats including the presidency and the number of general should be limited to three.

Sadiq al-Mahdi, leader of the National Umma Party and head of Sudan Call alliance on Thursday proposed to accept that the Sovereign Council be led by a military provided that the FFC has the majority of its 11 members.

In a statement released on Friday, the Sudan Call emphasized that the military council has recognized the revolutionary legitimacy of opposition forces that led the over four months protests.

Also, they pointed out that they have two-thirds of the transitional parliament and will select alone the independent qualified persons who will form the transitional government which has the full executive power.

After what and without declaring their support for the proposal made by Sadiq al-Mahdi, the Sudan Call underscored the need to prioritize the national interests

"Our country faces enormous challenges in terms of current and future political choices. From our long experience, we know the seriousness of these challenges. Therefore, the interests of the country and its stability must be prioritized over everything else," said the statement.

The Sudan Call statement was alluding to reports that the military council can be overthrown or at least meets strong resistance from the Islamist elements in the army if they are weakened and forced to hand over the Sovereign Council to the opposition.

(ST)

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