Sudan generals and protest leaders seal interim power-sharing deal

KHARTOUM: Sudan’s main opposition coalition and the ruling military council on Saturday signed a final power-sharing deal that paves the way for a transitional government, and eventually elections, following the removal of long-time leader Omar al Bashir. Stability in Sudan, which has been grappling with an economic crisis, is seen as crucial for a volatile region struggling with conflict and insurgencies from the Horn of Africa to Egypt and Libya. One of Sudan’s top generals, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is deputy head of the military council, and opposition alliance representative Ahmad al Rabie had initialed the agreement on August 4 and were the main signatories on Saturday. Those in the room clapped and cheered and an orchestra played a patriotic song. “I invite everyone to make this day a new stage of getting over the bitterness of the past and looking towards the future,” Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al Burhan, head of the military council, said at the end of the ceremony. Also present were African Union and Ethiopian mediators, who helped broker the accord, and representatives from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. “The coming period will be a test for us, no one will be excluded,” said leading opposition figure Sadiq al Mahdi, Sudan’s last democratically elected premier. “We will open the door to everyone to participate in Sudan’s celebration.”