EU, Troika warn Sudanese military against new PM’s unilateral appointment
January 4, 2022 (WASHINGTON) – European Union and Troika countries said the appointment of a new prime minister in Sudan should be consistent with the constitutional declaration of 2019 and not by the coup leaders alone.
Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok resigned on January 2, after his failure to form a new cabinet of technocrats on the basis of a deal struck with the coup leaders on November 21.
The coup leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seeks to appoint a new prime minister as names of probable prime ministers circulate in Khartoum based on leaks from the presidency or people who were approached by the military component.
The EU and Troika, which only recognize the government ousted by the coup leaders on October 25, renewed calls for dialogue on how to overcome the current political crisis, select new civilian leadership, and set up a matrix for the implementation of the remaining transitional tasks.
“Unilateral action to appoint a new Prime Minister and Cabinet would undermine those institutions’ credibility and risks plunging the nation into conflict,” warned the Troika and EU in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The statement further called on the Sudanese stakeholders to engage in an “immediate, Sudanese-led and internationally facilitated dialogue to address these and other transitional issues”.
After the military takeover, the EU and Troika stressed they only recognise the legitimate government formed on the basis of the Constitutional Document agreed by the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), a coalition of pro-democracy civil and political groups, and the military component.
The constitutional declaration governing transition in Sudan says that the Sovereign Council “appoints the Prime Minister selected by the FFC”.
The joint statement said they would not support a prime minister unilaterally appointed by the Sudanese military and alluded to the imposition of targeted sanctions on the coup leaders.
“In the absence of progress, we would look to accelerate efforts to hold those actors impeding the democratic process accountable,” said the joint statement.
Ned Price, State Department Spokesperson told reporters they were concerned by the actions of the Sudanese military.
“The actions of the military in recent weeks and the past couple months have been deeply concerning and we have condemned them, but we continue to look to that document as a blueprint for the path forward,” said Price.
Coordination with Saudi, UAE governments
In separate statements, the State Department said that Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the situation in Sudan with the Foreign Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan and UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Price said the issue of Sudan was among a number of issues Blinken discussed with the two officials.
There were reports from Cairo which refuses to condemn the coup d’état in Sudan dispatched a special envoy after Hamdok’s resignation to reassure the military leaders of Egypt’s support.
According to a report from its correspondent in Cairo, the Al-Araby newspaper said on Tuesday that Egypt coordinate with Saudi Arabia on Sudan.
Citing diplomatic sources, the newspaper added that Saudi Arabia agreed with Egypt to provide economic support to the new Sudanese government once the prime minister is appointed to calm the Sudanese street.
On November 3, 2021, Saudi Arabia and UAE had previously issued a joint statement with the U.S. and UK calling to restore a civilian-led transitional government.
Egypt declined to join this call when they had been approached.
(ST