Thousands of jubilant Sudanese people celebrate across the country after pro-democracy and military leaders sign a power-sharing deal ending months of turmoil
- Pro-democracy leaders and ruling military chiefs signed deal in Khartoum today
- Thousands celebrated across the Sudan and in cities of Khartoum and Darfur
- President Omar al-Bashir’s 30-year reign was ended by the military in April
- But protesters continued to demand freedom suffering deadly violence
Thousands flooded the streets of Sudan on Saturday after pro-democracy leaders and the ruling military council signed a final power-sharing agreement in Khartoum.
After weeks of negotiations, the two sides agreed a joint military and civilian council to rule for just over three years before elections are held.
President Omar al-Bashir’s three-decade dictatorship was overthrown by the military in April after months of demonstrations for a civilian government.
But protesters remained in the streets after the military refused to grant immediate powers amid international concern the struggle could ignite civil war.
Sudanese people celebrate after the signature of the power sharing agreement between the and the military in Khartoum on Saturday
A Sudanese woman waves their national flag and flashes a victory sign during celebrations in Khartoum
Young Sudanese men celebrate on the streets of Khartoum on Saturday after military
Earlier this month, the two sides initialled a constitutional document in the wake of international pressure.
General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the military council, called the signing a ‘victorious and historic day for our nation.’
‘The revolution has achieved its goals,’ he said, vowing the military would guarantee the transition to civilian rule.
Protest leader Mohammed Naji al-Asam said the two sides have ushered in a ‘new page’ in Sudan’s history after three decades of ‘repression and corruption.’
A military leader will head the new 11-member council for the first 21 months, followed by a civilian leader for the next 18.
The agreement also establishes a Cabinet appointed by the activists, as well as a legislative body to be assembled within three months.
The protest coalition is to have a majority in that body, as nominated by the Forces for Declaration of Freedom and Change, a coalition of opposition parties and movements representing the protesters.
The two sides appeared to agree on the soundness of a deal that came about in part because of international pressure. Ethiopia and the African Union co-led mediation efforts between the military and protesters.
Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the military council, called the signing a ‘victorious and historic day for our nation’
Sudanese civilians ride on the train to join in the celebrations of the signing of the Sudan’s power sharing deal
Hundreds of Sudanese people pack a train to Khartoum to join pro-democracy celebrations on Saturday
Many regional leaders and international envoys attended Saturday’s ceremony, including Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Attendees in the Friendship Hall where the ceremony took place received Ahmed with cheering and chanting.
But at least one analyst, Suliman Baldo, a senior researcher with the Enough Project, said the country will still face obstacles during the coming months of transition.
‘Daunting challenges will face Sudan’s progress to democracy and sound governance, chief among them the survival of the elements of the former regime in the institutions of the transition,’ Baldo said.
Still, the Sudanese celebrated in Khartoum and elsewhere across the country Saturday.
Video posted online showed people celebrating in the streets in Darfur and the eastern province of Kassala.
Railway workers and other protesters had travelled to the capital Friday by train from Atbara, the northern transport hub where the uprising began in December.
The ruling military council and the activists came under renewed pressure to reach an accord after security forces opened fire on student protesters on August 1 in the city of Obeid, leaving six people dead.
At least nine troops from the paramilitary Rapid Support forces were arrested over the killings.
In June, security forces violently dispersed the protesters’ main sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum, killing dozens of people and plunging the fragile transition into crisis.
The power-sharing agreement includes the establishment of an independent investigation into the crackdown on protests, specifically the dispersal of the sit-in.
Jubilant Sudanese people celebrate the signing of the agreement into the night on Saturday
Sudanese children wave flags as they sit on top of a car roof in Khartoum on Saturda
Former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, the leader of the opposition Umma party, said the deal was a ‘first step’ in the democratic change until ‘fair’ elections are held.
‘Today is the day of transition to civilian rule. … The next stage will be a test for us, without exclusion. We will open the door so all people can participate,’ said al-Mahdi, who led Sudan’s last freely elected government before an Islamist-backed military coup in 1989.
General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy head of the military council, and protest leader Ahmad Rabie who is a high school teacher, signed the deal. Both had initialed the documents earlier this month.
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres congratulated the Sudanese people and looked forward to ‘engaging with and supporting the transitional governing institutions.’
The Forces for Declaration of Freedom and Change, or FDFC, has nominated a well-known economist, Abdalla Hamdok, to lead the government during the transition.
He served as the deputy executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa since November 2011, and has yet to be confirmed by the sovereign council.
The council’s members are to be announced on Sunday, after which the ruling military council will immediately be disbanded.
The power-sharing deal has been criticised by the Sudan Revolutionary Front, an alliance of the largest rebel groups in Darfur. The rebels have stressed to protest leaders that the agreement did not include ‘basic principles’ to achieve peace in Sudan.
The deal calls for the government to reach a peace agreement with the rebels within six months.
The rebel alliance, which is part of the FDFC, wanted to include a peace document agreed on by the protest movement in the power-sharing deal.
The rebel leaders have engaged in talks with other protest leaders to settle the disputed points.
