Select the status of intelligence and quick support .. Details of the constitutional document agreement in Sudan

Sudan's interim military council and the opposition agreed on a constitutional document paving the way for the formation of a transitional government, mediator Mohamed Hassan Labat told a news conference in the early hours of Saturday.

The agreement, which outlines the powers and relationship of the transitional government, follows weeks of protracted negotiations brokered by the African Union and Ethiopia amid sporadic violence in the capital Khartoum and other cities.

After the news of the agreement was reached, citizens gathered on Nile Street (the main street in Khartoum) and chanted their horns and chants. Some shouted, "We won." Others chanted the national anthem.

"The delegation of freedom and change and the Transitional Military Council met this evening to continue their work on the constitutional document," he told Sudanese, national, international and African public opinion that the two delegations had fully agreed on the constitutional document.

He added that the two sides "continue their meetings this evening for the technical arrangements for the organization of the official signing ceremony" on the document Sunday evening.

As the Transitional Government exercises its functions, a three-year transitional period is expected to lead to elections.

Sudan has been in a state of political turmoil since the army overthrew President Omar al-Bashir in April, with dozens of protesters killed in street protests.

The negotiations dealt with the "absolute immunity" demanded by the army generals, the "powers of the joint sovereignty council" and "manifestations of military deployment" in various cities of the country.

The agreement on the constitutional document complements the agreement between the military leaders and the leaders of the Alliance of Forces for Freedom and Change (which leads the protests) on July 17 on the "political declaration" to form a joint military-military council, establishing a transitional administration leading the country for a 39-month period.

Intelligence and rapid support
There were two major differences between the two sides: the role of the General Intelligence Service and the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary force in the Sudan.

The draft of the constitutional document seen by Reuters indicated that the General Intelligence Service would be under the supervision of the Council of Sovereignty and the Council of Ministers, and that the rapid support forces would follow the commander-in-chief of the armed forces in the transitional period.

The two sides have already agreed that the Sovereign Council will consist of 11 members, five officers chosen by the military council, and a similar number of civilians chosen by the Alliance of Freedom and Change Forces, along with another civilian figure, by agreement between the two sides.

According to the agreement, the first President of the Council will be from the Army for a period of 21 months, beginning with the signing of the Agreement, followed by the Presidency of a civilian member for the remaining 18 months of the transitional period.

When the Sovereign Council is formed, the current military junta is dissolved under the chairmanship of Lieutenant General Abdul Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Lieutenant General Mohammad Hamdan Diklu (Hamidati), head of the rapid support forces.

first step
For its part, said the forces of change that the agreement comes to complement the political agreement signed mid-last month. "The constitutional declaration is a first step that will be followed," she said in a statement.

"The first priority of the transitional government during its first six months in power will be to work for peace in the light of the activity of a number of armed groups in southern and western Sudan," said negotiator for freedom and change forces.

For his part, said the leader of the forces of freedom and change civil Abbas Madani, the announcement of the personalities that constitute the sovereign council and the Council of Ministers will be after the official signature of the constitutional document.

Madani confirmed to the island that the selection of these characters will take into account the criteria of geographical diversity and qualitative representation.

The protest movement erupted in Sudan on 19 December 2018 because of the threefold increase in the price of bread before it quickly became a nationwide protest movement against the regime of former President Omar al-Bashir. Since then, the suppression of protests has killed 250 people, according to the Central Committee of Physicians close to the protest movement.