Umma Party calls to involve armed groups in Sudan’s transitional institutions
August 5, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – Leading figures in the National Umma Party (NUP) called for reviewing the Constitutional Declaration negotiated between the protest leaders and the military junta and to amend it to incorporate with was agreed with the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF).
On Sunday, the SRF rejected the constitutional document signed by the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) with the Transitional Military Council (TMC), saying the document discarded key principles for peace in Sudan and instead built obstacles to the implementation of any future peace agreement.
In a joint statement on Sunday evening, Malik Agar and Minni Minnawi pointed to the Constitutional Declaration saying its article 69 provides that no peace agreement can lead to amending it or contravene its dispositions while logically and the custom in peace agreements that the fundamental law is amended to incorporate the peace agreement.
In a call issued on Monday, NUP deputy leader Mariam al Mahdi, NUP assistant leader Sallah Manna and Mohamed Zein said that It was agreed that the Sovereign Council shall be formed immediately after the final signing of the agreement with the TMC.
Further, they disclosed that it was agreed to allocate two seats.
For the transitional government, they added it was agreed that the prime minister should be immediately appointed with the Sovereign Council but he will delay the formation of his government for one month to consult the SRF groups on the nomination of the government ministers.
“Therefore, in light of what is stated in Chapter XV (Comprehensive Peace Issues), we call for a review of what has been agreed in the Constitutional Declaration in this chapter: Articles 67 to 69,” said the three NUP figures who represented their party in the FFC consultations meetings in Addis Ababa last July.
“Also, we call to review the implementation matrix of the Agreement, so that the formation of the government is delayed for one month after the appointment of the Prime Ministers (…),” the added.
It worth mentioning that Agar and Minnawi in their statement said the NUP representative in the negotiations with the TMC was vehemently opposed to the incorporation of what was agreed in Addis Ababa with the SRF groups on the peace process.
In turn, they praised the Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) for its strong support to Addis Ababa document and pointed out that the military council was also favourable to allow the armed groups to participate in the transitional institutions.
The SCoP secretary-general Khalid Omer on Monday on Monday reiterated the position of his party saying that peace is a serious issue without what democracy will not be achieved.
“We stress the need to take into account the SRF’s observations on the constitutional document, and that all Forces for Freedom and Change engage in dialogue with the SRF before the final signing of the agreement”.
(ST)