From the rule of the military to the civil state .. Sudan on the threshold of a new phase

Al Jazeera Net-Khartoum

After 30 years of one-president rule and military power, Sudan is poised in the coming days to become a civilian state that finds international and regional support. Feeling hopeful and anticipated, millions of Sudanese are waiting for the dawn of Saturday, August 17, "the milestone in the political history of their country," as they describe, where the Transitional Military Council and the forces of freedom and change that led the broad popular movement for nearly four months, Documents of transition to the civil authority, represented in the political and constitutional declarations after they were initialed earlier.

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According to the timetable set for scheduling the transition process and after strenuous negotiations between the military and the Hirak forces, the transitional council expires on August 18 and is replaced by a mixed, civilian-majority sovereign council.

On August 19, members of the Sovereignty Council, headed by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, will be sworn in by the chief justice appointed by the Harak forces. The council will hold its first meeting on the same day.

According to the timetable, the Prime Minister will be appointed by the Sovereignty Council on August 20, and will be sworn in the next day before the Sovereignty Council and the Chief Justice.

On August 28, the Prime Minister will select the 20 members of his cabinet, to be formally approved by the Sovereign Council on the 30th of the month and to be sworn in the following day, and the first meeting of the Council of Ministers will be held on the same day.

In early September, the first joint meeting of the Councils of Sovereignty and Ministers will take place, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Sudan.

Signing ceremony
A joint technical committee between the two parties will make the final arrangements for the signing ceremony, which will be exclusively in the Friendship Hall for the guests of the country, including presidents, representatives of diplomatic missions, international envoys and EU officials.

Hygiene teams and the rehabilitation of streets badly hit by the recent rains have been widely deployed in the Sudanese capital. Al Jazeera Net has also monitored high security preparations to secure guests from presidents and officials, as well as ensuring security at the expected mass crowd.

A number of African presidents confirmed their participation in the ceremony, where he arrived in Khartoum on Saturday morning Ethiopian Prime Minister Abe Ahmed. The President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, is also participating with a high-level delegation of his government officials, as well as his Kenyan counterpart, Or Kenyatta, and Chadian Idriss Deby, along with the Central African President.

According to diplomatic sources contacted by "Al Jazeera Net", Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi apologized for participating in the ceremony, but promised to send a high-level delegation to attend the signing ceremony.

On the contrary, the leaders of friendly countries to the junta officials, led by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, refrained from participating in the Sudanese ceremony, leaving Arab representation at the level of leaders and presidents low, especially in the absence of the Egyptian president who chairs the current session of the African Union.

The presence of Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and his UAE counterpart Anwar Gargash was officially announced, along with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, OIC Secretary General Yousef Al-Othaimeen, and a delegation from the Arab Parliament and the Arab League. An invitation was also received to the Qatari Government, which is holding consultations to identify its participating delegation.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived at Khartoum airport to participate in the signing ceremony.

Surprise the SPLM
In a surprise development, the SPLM-led northern sector led by Malik Akkar decided to send a high-level delegation of its leaders to participate in the signing ceremony, despite the announcement of the Revolutionary Front - which includes the movement of Akkar - under the boycott of participation because of lack of understandings with them on the issue of peace.

In an internal speech seen by "Al Jazeera Net," Yasser Arman, deputy leader of the movement called the grass-roots to participate and "work in the structures and organs of the forces of freedom and change and its committees, including commissions celebrations."

Arman said they received an invitation to participate in the signing ceremony, as well as another invitation from one of the heads of state to accompany him to Khartoum.