Sudan’s State Governors Saga: Umma party calls to review selection criteria
The call comes as the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) held a press conference from Juba on the same day to make public the proposal they sent to the Prime Minister to review the selection criteria involve them in the selection process of the governors if he wants to appoint them before the conclusion of a peace agreement.
In a statement released on Monday evening, the NUP recalled its opposition to the selection criteria adopted by the leadership council of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), stressing that they have called since December 2019 to choose qualified people and to consider the political support of the nominated governor in every state.
Based on this position without referring to the new SRF proposal, the NUP declared its rejection of the list of nominees recently handed over to the prime minister and called to review the selection process.
“These nominations will not contribute positively to support the comprehensive just peace that we aspire to achieve (…),” said the statement.
“The only way out is to reconsider (the process), sit down to reach an agreement that satisfies all parties and prevents expected divisions (..),” it further stressed.
Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok on Saturday postponed the appointment of state governors after failing to convince the SRF to accept the temporary appointment of governors until the signing of a peace agreement.
Also, Hamdok reportedly expressed reservations over the FFC nominees and called to make several nominees for every state and to represent women.
The FFC presented a single nominee for every state saying he must appoint people they choose. For the government, they submitted three names for every portfolio.
Objectively, the NUP’s statement backs the position of the prime minister who had been very reluctant to appoint the state governors before to include the armed groups.
However, the Umma party which was the largest political force according to the last democratic election demands to have more governors in line electoral results of 1986.
(ST)