Ousted Sudan prime minister to be reinstated after pact with military

Khartoum, Nov 21 (EFE).- Ousted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok will be reinstated as the head of Sudan’s government after reaching a deal with the military nearly a month after a coup that overthrew him, mediators announced on Sunday.

The military, Hamdok and other Sudanese leaders have reached an agreement that will ensure his return as prime minister for a transition period, according to a statement released by the group of mediators established to oversee negotiations after military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan orchestrated a coup on Oct. 25.

The negotiators said that the agreement would be formally released later on Sunday, after its terms and an accompanying political declaration are signed.

They said that apart from Hamdok returning to office, the agreement also ensures the release of all political prisoners, one of the main conditions put forth during negotiations by the ex-prime minister, who remains under house arrest.

Apart from Hamdok, a number of Sudanese ministers and political leaders were also arrested during the coup and the protests that followed in its wake.

The mediators said that they will continue discussions with other political parties over “the processes of constitutional, legal and political consensus to regulate the transition period,” which was kicked off after the dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in a popular revolt in April 2019.

A week after the October coup, Al Burhan had already indicated that he wanted Hamdok to take charge, after which negotiations were started through the mediators, to discuss the demands put forward by the economist to resume in office.

Al Burhan, considered a strongman, had on Oct. 25 dissolved the joint military-civilian Sovereign Council that took charge following the ouster of al-Bashir, which led to thousands of people joining street protests.

At least 40 people have been killed in demonstrations since the coup, according to the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, which has been releasing data over the casualties. EFE

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