A large number of people returned to the streets in Sudan on Monday to mark the one-year anniversary a transitional power-sharing deal, reported Africa News. The protesters are unsatisfied with the current government and are demanding quicker political reform.
The crowd gathered outside the Cabinet’s headquarters in the capital, Khartoum, with Sudanese flags in their hands to hand over a list of demands, including the formation of a legislative body. The police had to fire tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.
The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which led anti-Bashir protests in Sudan, took to Twitter to inform that security forces violently dispersed protesters as they demanded to meet Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and refused an envoy sent in his place.
Months of mass protests, which began in December 2018, forced the Sudanese army to step in and topple long term leader Omar Al-Bashir in April 2019. Even after Al-Bashir’s ousting, the people continued with the demonstrations demanding that power be handed over to a civilian administration.
After months of on-and-off negotiations, a power-sharing agreement was signed between the military and the Forces for Declaration of Freedom and Change, a coalition of opposition parties and movements representing the protesters.
The deal provides for a joint civilian-military ruling body tasked with leading Sudan to elections after a transitional period of 39 months. The 11-member sovereign council consists of five civilians, five military leaders and a consensus civilian agreed to by both sides. It is headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hamdok on Monday called for political and popular support to bring out reform in Sudan.
“The state apparatus needs to be rebuilt, the legacy of (the old regime) needs to be dismantled and the civil service needs to be modernized and developed to become unbiased between citizens, as well as effective,” he said in a statement.
