Sudan’s government and the opposition propose 2 different visions for a new Sudan

In anticipation of the end of the war in Sudan, political parties have been preparing to put forward a host of measures that will fill Sudan’s political void. At the head of the Sudanese groups is Taqaddum led by the former Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok who held a three-day conference in Entebbe, Uganda, from 3-6 December. However, the group is, according to reports, “riddled with internal disputes and conflicts.”

As part of the ongoing disagreement is Hamdok’s decision to “dispute the legitimacy” of Sudan’s official government; although, his group is unable to agree to establish a “government in exile”. Technically speaking, Hamdok would also have some difficulty in declaring himself as prime minister of Sudan, given that he resigned from the position in January 2022.

Hamdok urged countries in the region to pressure the warring parties to declare a ceasefire and open humanitarian corridors, building on the progress achieved at the Jeddah platform in May 2023. “The war in Sudan surpasses the scale of crises in Gaza, Lebanon and Ukraine,” he said, renewing his call for unity and coordination among the civilians and what he termed the “anti-war peace camp,” emphasising the importance of unity in achieving the aspirations of Sudanese people.

Jaffar Hassan, the group’s spokesperson, said Taqaddum is in discussions with several political forces, including the Popular Congress Party, the original Democratic Unionist Party, the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party and the Sudanese Communist Party. He expressed hope that these ongoing discussions will yield results soon, “We affirm our support for all steps to unite civilian forces, regardless of their composition,” he added.

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His statement calls for a civilian front to stop the war and calls for a fully civilian transitional government, Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue, but to the exclusion of the National Congress Party and its affiliates, a unified national army with a new military doctrine and the restructuring of state institutions. However, the exclusion of the National Congress Party and Islamic orientated parties, and making wholesale changes to the army has always been a fault line in the search for Sudanese unity. The last attempt to single out the Islamic group resulted in the breakdown of the attempt to establish a civilian government given the signatories to the Juba Agreement are also of Islamic orientation.

Convincing the Sudanese people of the value of adopting a secular government has never been a clear cut issue. Despite the widespread anger over Sudan’s government led by the former President Omar Al-Bashir, completely abandoning an Islamic ethos does not appear to be an attractive proposition to the large bulk of the Sudanese public. The decision to exclude some of the Islamic groups, also appears to contradict the Transitional Sovereignty Council’s recent invitation to all Sudanese political forces to a conference to be held in the “Arkwet” resort in the Red Sea State. “The invitation is without exception,” according to the offer announced by Sudan’s President and army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.

The offer includes the parties that make up the Taqaddam group, the Communist Party, the Baath Party, the Democratic Bloc, the National Congress, Islamists in general and others. The Sovereignty Council vowed to issue an amnesty to any person participating in the process. They also confirmed the legal suits against some politicians, activists and journalists announced by the attorney general, some months ago, would be frozen. The decision says that the political forces will discuss solely one item, namely; the formation of the Legislative Council “Assembly”. This would be drawn from the number, percentages and conditions of representation agreed upon by the attendees; provided that the Legislative Council forms the state structures, then appoints the prime minister and approves the ministers chosen by the prime minister.

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The Legislative Council will become the ultimate controlling body that will decide on legislation and regulations. The political groups would form the council within a month and would be flexible to agree on the national agenda. Among the recommendations, the Legislative Council would form a Supreme Peace Authority which would be approved by the Legislative Council to define its powers and organise its work on peace building. The conference proposed agreeing on a parliament composed of sectors including; legal, economists, professional, regular forces, political parties, diplomats, expatriates, civil communities, culture, teachers, university professors, farmers and herders.

The Sovereignty Council says it plans to invite representatives of some countries to attend the opening session of the conference before the end of the year. However, even before the Sovereign Council could put its stamp of approval on the proposal, the Taqaddum group described the proposal as ‘avoiding and escaping accountability.’ It is difficult to imagine how the opposition group would sit down to negotiate around the table at this point. However, if the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues to weaken, the political forces will have to accept a new reality and Sudan’s government vision may win. Alternatively, if the RSF is able to to change the military direction in its favour and manages to cut off Darfur from the rest of Sudan, Sudan’s government will more than likely delay its proposed conference or face a different and opposing vision of the country’s future.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.