National Consensus to endorse constitution declaration for transition in Sudan

August 22, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – The National Consensus Forces will formally sign a constitutional declaration to achieve a democratic transition in Sudan within 30 months., the official spokesman of the coalition said on Monday.

On Tuesday August 23, the coalition will sign four documents including the Political Declaration of Democratic Civilian Government, the Transitional Constitutional Arrangements, the tasks of the Transitional Government, and the criteria for selecting the Prime Minister.

Mohamed Zakaria NCF Spokesman disclosed to Sudan Tribune the key points of the constitutional declaration, which provides for a 30-month transition period.

He pointed out that the declaration proposes to establish the Legislative Council, the Supreme Peace Council, and the National Consensus Council, in addition to a Sovereign Council that the parties agree on its powers.

As they are now joined by the Democratic Unionist Party and other groups, Zakaria said the official name of the coalition will be National Consensus Forces instead of Forces for Freedom and Change –  National Consensus (FFC-NC)

“We agreed with a number of political, civil society forces to form a civil bloc under the name of the National Consensus Forces,” he said.

For the transitional government, he said they grant the Council of Ministers broad powers with a special representation of the resistance committees and the forces of the Sudanese revolution.

He added that the declaration provide for an investigation of the killing of peaceful protesters during the bloody raid on the pro-democracy sit-in outside the army general command in Khartoum in 2019, dismantling the former regime and protecting public freedoms and fundamental rights.

It is worth mentioning that the armed groups’ signatory to the Juba peace Agreement criticized the former regime’s Empowerment Removal Committee established by the former Prime Minister, calling for giving its power to the General Attorney.

The Forces for Freedom and Change are expected to release their constitutional declaration including their vision for the transitional period.

The anti-coup coalition empathizes that the role of the military component should be limited to the security and defence council, which should be chaired by a civilian head of state or the prime minister.

The Trilateral Mechanism of the UNITAMS, AU and IGAD plans to gather the various political constitutional declarations and combine a draft to be discussed by the Sudanese stakeholders and adopt a final document agreed upon by all the forces.

On July 4, the head of the Sovereign Council and military component, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, declared their decision not to participate in the transitional government.

In return, he said they would form a supreme military council with some powers related to foreign relations and the central bank.

(ST)