Ethiopia welcomes reinstatement of Sudanese prime minister

A political agreement reached on November 21 saw Abdallah Hamdok reinstated as Prime Minister nearly a month after he was ousted in a military coup.

The Ethiopian government, in a statement, said it hopes the new power-sharing agreement between the President and Prime Minister brings peace and stability.

“The reinstatement of Abdallah Hamdok as the prime minister and his empowerment to form his cabinet is commendable.  The government of Ethiopia also appreciates the reinstatement of all the institutions of the transitional period and the affirmation to make constitutional declaration the legitimate document,” partly reads the statement issued by the Ethiopian embassy in South Sudan.

“The government of Ethiopia hopes that the new power-sharing agreement between the President and the Prime Minister would bring peace and stability in Sudan to our sub-region in general,” it further added.

The Horn of Africa nation is one of the countries in the region that has publicly welcomed the new power-sharing arrangement despite the Sudanese pro-democracy activists rejecting it as an attempt to legitimize the military takeover.

Activists want the military not to be part of any future Sudanese government.

On October 25, the military, under the head of Sudan’s Transitional Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Buhran ousted the Prime Minister and subsequently declared a state of emergency and dissolved the joint civilian and military transitional government.

He was placed under house arrest with several of his civilian officials detained by the military, attracting widespread condemnation regionally and internationally.

Following the political crisis, protesters continued to stage demonstrations in the capital and parts of Sudan, demanding for the country to return to civilian rule.

Over 40 protesters were reportedly killed and hundreds wounded during the protests.

On November 21, the parties reached a deal to reinstate Hamdok as Sudan’s Prime Minister, leading to the country’s transitional period ahead of 2023.

The 14-point agreement between Hamdok and the military also provides for the release of all political prisoners detained during the coup and stipulates that a 2019 constitutional declaration be the basis for a political transition in Sudan.

(ST)