Sudan cabinet reshuffle to be followed by changes in legislative assembly: speaker

December 4, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The head of Sudan’s national legislative body which is composed of the parliament and the states’ council, Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Tahir, announced that the upcoming cabinet reshuffle would be followed by changes in the legislative chamber.

On Tuesday, president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir thanked his cabinet ministers and state’s ministers for their participation in the broad base government prior to announcing the new cabinet formation.

Al-Tahir, who addressed the national legislative body on Wednesday, predicted that the new cabinet will be more effective than the previous one, pointing that the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) would witness changes that match with the state’s general reform vision and positively affect the security and economic situation in the country.

However, the Sudanese official did not elaborate on the nature of these changes he was alluding to.

The speaker stressed that the government made huge efforts to achieve the national interests, calling upon political parties to join the government and participate in drafting the new elections law.

The opposition parties call for the formation of a national unity government to run the country during an interim period followed by elections after settlement of regional conflicts and agreement on constitutional principles.

The Sudanese government refuses opposition’s demand for the formation of an interim government and parliament, calling on them to prepare themselves to compete freely in 2015 general elections.

In the same context, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), led by Mohamed Osman Al-Mirghani, announced that the leadership bureau would decide on the recommendation made by the follow-up and evaluation committee for withdrawal from the government.

The DUP’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Al-Mirghani, said that the party chairman and the leadership bureau are the only parties who have the right to decide on this issue.

On Tuesday, the state’s minister at the ministry of agriculture, Jaafar Ahmed Abdalla, who is also a prominent leader in the DUP, said that their participation in the new government would be based on national agenda and to meet the challenges facing the country.

(ST)