KHARTOUM: General Abdel Fattah al Burhan, the outgoing head of Sudan’s military council, was sworn in on Wednesday as leader of the new Sovereign Council that will run the country for three years until an election after decades of autocratic rule.
Burhan and other military officers overthrew veteran leader Omar Hassan al Bashir in April in response to months of protests over economic hardships and dictatorship.
While Sudanese people celebrated Bashir’s fall they also pressed for a handover of power to civilians during a turbulent period of protests and violence, including a crackdown on a protest camp outside the Defence Ministry that opposition medics say killed more than 100 people in June.
The makeup of the 11-member Sovereign Council that will run the country for the transition period, superseding the military council which has been disbanded, was completed on Tuesday, comprising six civilian and five military figures.
Nine members of the council were sworn in about two hours after Burhan took the oath on Wednesday. The final member, Mohamed al Hassan al Taishi, will be sworn in at a later, unspecified date, state news agency SUNA said.
However, some opposition members and analysts expressed concern that the power-sharing deal may fall short of expectations in a country where the military, backed by hardliners, has dominated for decades.
“With the start of the transition period, we have entered the most complex phase, the phase of building and reform,” said Al Rashed Saeed, spokesman for the Sudanese Professionals Association, a key part of the Forces for Freedom and Change coalition that negotiated with the military council.
Among the military men sworn in were General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, outgoing deputy head of the military council.
Hemedti has become a growing political force in Sudan and some analysts say he hopes to become president.
Hemedti heads the Rapid Support Forces, a widely feared paramilitary group that has a heavy presence in Khartoum and stands accused of atrocities against civilians in the Darfur war. Bashir’s government denied the charges.
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Civilian representatives on the council include mostly little-known figures, including Rajaa Nicola Abdel Maseeh, a Christian, who was the civilian member jointly chosen by the military and the opposition coalition.
Burhan, dressed in military uniform, was sworn in before the head of the judiciary at the presidential palace in Khartoum. The other members were sworn in before the judiciary head and Burhan in the afternoon.
The Sovereign Council, which held its first meeting shortly after the members’ swearing in, is now the highest authority in the country but will largely delegate executive powers to a cabinet of ministers led by the prime minister.
The nomination of prominent economist Abdalla Hamdok to the role underlines the daunting task of repairing an economy. — Reuters
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