Darfur partners insist on ‘package deal’ in Sudan’s new cabinet talks

July 8, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudanese armed groups from Darfur are demanding their cabinet appointments be treated as a single package, a key sticking point that has delayed the formation of a new government, the groups said in a statement.

The dispute highlights the political challenges facing Prime Minister Kamel Idris, who is trying to form a government that includes the movements that signed the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement.

Idris has appointed ministers for defence, interior, and four other portfolios, but has yet to name ministers for 17 different posts. Six of those are allocated to the Darfur movements under the peace deal, which granted them a 25% share in the government.

Sovereign Council member General Shams al-Din Kabbashi met with leaders of the movements in Port Sudan on Monday to address the impasse, well-informed sources confirmed to Sudan Tribune.

In a statement late on Monday, the Darfur groups said they affirmed their “commitment to representing the parties of the [Darfur] track in the Council of Ministers as a single package, without fragmentation.”

The dispute centres on control of key economic posts. The movements have demanded they retain the finance and minerals ministries, according to earlier reports.

The sources further stated that a potential compromise was reached, whereby the groups would retain the finance and minerals posts in exchange for relinquishing the Ministry of Social Development.

The same sources further added that the prime minister is considering separating the economic planning portfolio from the finance ministry, which was previously led by Gibril Ibrahim, head of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

The Darfur track signatory groups include the JEM, the Sudan Liberation Army of Minni Minawi, and other allied forces. In their statement, the groups also pledged support for the Sudanese armed forces in the country’s ongoing conflict.