Sudan’s ruling Military Transitional Council (MTC) and the Declaration of Freedom and Changes Forces, an umbrella organization of opposition groups, reached an agreement in principle to form a joint civilian-military ruling council to run the country until the next election.
The agreement was reached during a meeting held on Saturday. The new council will reportedly be a sovereign ruling body that will form a transitional civilian administration.
The move follows protests by thousands of Sudanese who remained encamped outside the military headquarters since the army ousted longtime leader Omar al-Bashir on April 11 following months of popular demonstrations against his 30-year rule, demanding the army rulers to step down.
“We agreed on a joint council between the civilian and the military,” Ahmed al-Rabia, one of the leaders of the protest campaign told AFP. “We are now in consultation about what percentage of the council should be represented by civilians and how much by the military.”
During an interview with Al Jazeera, Shams Eldin Kabashi, the spokesperson for the military council, said the talks started with high spirits and great transparency. He added the talks will continue and the military council is optimistic on reaching a final result that will be announced to the Sudanese people as soon as possible.
As per the report, the agreement is currently in an early stage and details are yet to be ironed out. There is still a lot of discord and disagreement between the two sides as the military council wants 10 members in the new council, three of them civilians and seven of them from the military, while the opposition wants the council to be made up of 15 members, eight of them civilians and seven people from the military.
The MTC is currently overseeing a two-year transitional period during which it has pledged to hold presidential elections.
