Sudan power-sharing agreement reached, roadmap for civil government

2019-08-17T15:37:41.370Z

The ruling military junta in Sudan and the coalition of civil society forces in the country have reached a power-sharing agreement: an African Union envoy announced today. The agreement, said Mohammedel-Hassan Labat, includes a roadmap for a transition to a civilian-led government. Both sides have agreed to form a joint sovereign council that will rule the country for "three years or so". The council will consist of five soldiers and five civilians, while another chair will go to a civilian with a military background. The agreement is intended to put an end to the stalemate in the African country after the deposition of the thirty-year-old autocrat Omar al-Bashir which took place last April. The negotiations had failed when security forces attacked protesters in Khartoum last month calling for the transfer of power to a civilian government, and resumed this week in the wake of strong protests last weekend. Demonstrators rejoice, 'the revolution has won' "Today our revolution has won": so the leaders of the Sudanese Professionals' Association, the pro-democracy movement that brought down the dictator Omar al-Bashir in April, greeted the agreement of sharing of narrow power between military and civil society forces. The agreement came after weeks of political impasse and after the repression of the military against the protesters caused a hundred deaths last month.