Sudanese political groups urge AU to review official’s stance on newly appointed PM

May 25, 2025 (ADDIS ABABA) – Sudanese political groups on Sunday called on the African Union (AU) to reconsider statements by one of its commissioners, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, welcoming the appointment of a prime minister by Sudan’s army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Kamil Idris, a former United Nations official, has been appointed Sudan’s new prime minister. His appointment comes as the country’s warring factions continue to battle for control, exacerbating a deep humanitarian crisis.

The AU suspended Sudan’s participation in its activities after the military, led by Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemetti, ousted the civilian-led government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in a coup on Oct. 25, 2021.

Days before an AU summit and a meeting of its Peace and Security Council last February, Sudan requested a lifting of the suspension, submitting a roadmap for transition. However, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye said resumption of Sudan’s activities was conditional on “clear steps” towards a constitutional and democratic transition.

Sudanese authorities, led by Burhan, who heads the ruling Sovereign Council, hope to have the suspension lifted and have held informal meetings with AU officials, a foreign ministry diplomatic source told Sudan Tribune, a media outlet. An AU source told Sudan Tribune that a meeting of the AU’s Peace and Security Council is expected next July.

Sudan officially participated in an AU event for the first time since its suspension on Saturday, attending “Africa Day” celebrations at the bloc’s headquarters in Addis Ababa. Sudan set up a pavilion showcasing its culture and products at the event, which was visited by its ambassador to Ethiopia, Al-Zayn Ibrahim, Sudan Tribune reported.

The Smoud (Resilience) alliance condemned remarks reportedly made by AU Commissioner Youssef on the sidelines of an Arab League summit in Baghdad, in which he expressed optimism about the Sudanese armed forces’ progress. In a statement on Friday, the alliance called the remarks a “clear violation” of AU regulations, which do not recognize the legitimacy of any government in Sudan since the 2021 coup.

Osman Abdelrahman Suleiman, spokesman for the United Civil Forces “Qimam” (Summits), urged the AU to review its commissioner’s stance, saying that welcoming the prime minister’s appointment “casts doubt on his impartiality” in handling the Sudanese crisis. He added that Burhan’s administration lacks legitimacy, stating, “The decisions and decrees issued by al-Burhan are not based on any constitutional legitimacy,” he told Sudan Tribune.

Wagdi Salih, a leader in the Arab Ba’ath Socialist Party, told Sudan Tribune he believed the AU Commission had been seeking a formula for engaging with the military authorities in Port Sudan as a de facto reality for about a year, particularly after the war that erupted on April 15, 2023.

Salih said the AU Commission was hesitant because such a move would violate its charter and regulations by legitimizing coups – which the AU charter explicitly opposes – and due to the Port Sudan authority’s lack of domestic and international acceptance.

He asserted the move would not be popularly welcomed nor signal any genuine democratic transition by the “de facto authority in Port Sudan.” Instead, Salih argued, it represented “a recycling of military authority under a civilian guise, which disappoints the hopes of the Sudanese people… for the African Union to… restore  the path of civilian democratic transition and hold accountable the perpetrators of the coup and of igniting the war.”