• Sudan power-sharing agreement reached, roadmap for civil government
  • Sudan. Actual coup, surrounded presidency. Via Bashir in power for 30 years

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17 August 2019The military council in power in Sudan and the main opposition coalition signed the constitutional declaration that sets the terms of the transition to a civilian government. The document provides for the creation of a Sovereign Council charged with managing the transition, made up of eleven members (five appointed by each of the two parties plus a civil personality) and whose composition will be announced tomorrow.

Instead, a new Prime Minister will be appointed on Tuesday, whose government should be presented on 28 August next; for the leadership of the executive the opposition will propose the economist Abdalla Hamdok, who boasts a long experience in various international institutions and already high leader of the Sudanese Ministry of Finance before the military coup of 1989 with which Omar al Bashir came to power.

The agreement signed today in the presence of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, the result of weeks of negotiations, defines the division of powers and the relations between the various branches of the transition executive.

The agreement therefore paves the way for the transition in Sudan more than four months after the deposition of the now former Rais Omar al Bashir. The agreement, satellite television reports say, was signed by the powerful Sudanese general Mohamed Hamdan Dagolo, number two of the military junta and better known as 'Hemeti', and by Ahmed Rabie, representing the opposition gathered in the Alliance of Forces for the freedom and change.

"The people of Sudan have fought for almost 30 years and the political transition in the country has seemed an impossible dream. Now it is necessary to have a fair representation," said Mohammad Naji Al Assam, the representative of the Association of Sudanese professionals, the engine of protests, during the ceremony for the signing of the historic agreement. "The sacrifices of the martyrs of the revolution have paved the way for today's celebration. We have opened a new page in Sudan and closed another three decades of oppression of corruption," he added.

Immediately after the signing, enthusiastic crowds filled the streets of Khartoum to celebrate. Thousands of people have come from different parts of the country to watch the signing and take part in the celebrations that will continue throughout the day.

Under the agreement, the military junta will be dissolved tomorrow and the sovereign council that will govern the country for three years will be formed.