Sudan: Burhan will leave politics after 2023 elections

Chairman of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, Gen. Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan and Deputy Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo attend a military graduation ceremony of special forces, in Khartoum, Sudan on September 22, 2021. [Mahmoud Hjaj – Anadolu Agency]

Sudanese army chief, Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, said yesterday that he plans to leave politics and retire from the armed forces after the 2023 elections are held.

“We are definitely committed to holding elections in 2023. After that, I’ll leave and mind my own business. I will also leave the armed forces,” Al-Burhan told the Financial Times.

Under the 2019 transitional deal, Al-Burhan is forbidden from running in the elections.

The top general explained that the deal reached on Sunday with Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok allows for the formation of an independent technocratic government, which would focus on the essential issues of the transitional period, such as the economy, elections, peace and security.

Last month, Al-Burhan led the overthrow of Hamdok’s government and dissolved the Sovereign Council formed following the fall of former President Omar Al-Bashir. The move was seen by many as a coup.

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