The head of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council and the country’s de-facto leader said the political forces in the African nation were close to reaching an agreement and forming a new government.
The leader, Gen.- Abdel Fattah Burhan said this in the Ethiopian city of Bahir Dar when he spoke at a forum on security in Africa.
“The indications have become more positive, they inspire optimism and bode well for the near-term success of consensus-building among most political and social forces in the country,”
Burhan was quoted as saying by the Sudanese news agency SUNA.
The leader added that these positive signals “add guarantees of transitional stability and the formation of a civilian government.”
However, in October 2021, the Sudanese military, led by Burhan, overthrew the government, declaring a state of emergency and establishing a transitional sovereign council under his leadership.
Subsequent protests forced Burhan to sign a pact stipulating the reinstatement of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, releasing all political prisoners, holding elections in July 2023, and handing power to an elected civilian government.
The political crisis persisted, however, and Hamdok stepped down on Jan. 2.
In early July, Burhan said that the military was not going to be involved in the national dialogue between rival groups to “provide an opportunity for the revolutionary and national political forces to conduct a dialogue among themselves.”
Weekly protests against military rule have continued in Sudan, resulting in dozens of deaths.