Wake-up call: A Looming Beam of Hope
By: Consultant/Engineer Omer Al-Bakri Abu Haraz
At last a beam of hope is looming on the horizon.
The last few hours of the historical visit paid by six high level delegates from influential international bodies witnessed exertion of enormous pressure on both warring Force of Freedom and Change – Central Council – (FFC-CC) and Forces of Freedom and Change – Democratic Bloc (FFC-DB).
Pressure on FFC-CC to back down from their stance of not opening the Framework Agreement to include the FFC-DB elements, and pressure on FFC-DB to accept the signed Framework Agreement as a pragmatic step to break the dreadful impasse. Massive speedily meetings with the leaders of the two FFCs led to holding joint meetings between them for the first time since the coup of October 25th, 2021.
The international brokers managed to break the deadlock by the tactic of stick and carrot.
Stick to FFC-DB by implicit threats to subject them to personal sanctions and carrot to FFC-CC by pledging to resume financial assistance to Sudan at the onset of forming a civilian government. The split in the military component between the army general and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was mitigated by the tactic of Stick and Carrot which led the military component to accept the brokered deal.
So, the final deal will boil down to the formation of a civilian government to run a two-year transitional period closely mentioned by a military transitional council as a sovereign body without any executive portfolios.
To graduate a stable and safe wading to a sustainable transition to democratic civilian rule the following must be respected and adhered to:
- Unequivocal nomination and appointing of non-partisan prime minister and ministers. Dr. Hamdok return as PM will be a good gesture of revoking the coup of October 25th, 2021, the thing that will appease most of the streets demonstrations by acceding to their demands.
- All political parties, Arm struggle Movements and any political entity should refrain completely from involvement in the transitional governance. They should work seriously and prudently on reforming their parties during the transitional period in preparation for the general elections after two years.
- No need for appointing members in a transitional legislative council. This will create unnecessary new impasse. Legislation in the transitional period should be a joint council of the council of ministers and the military council which should be of equal number of the cabinet members and representing all armed forces units.
- The joint legislative council should take the vital step of abandoning the parliamentary failed system. It is the main cause of the vicious circle of short civilian rule and long military dictatorship. They should opt for a Constitutional Presidency System. Most of the African countries adopting the Presidential System are stable and growing (Kenya and Rwanda as examples). Their people enjoy democratic rule without coups for quite long times.
Parliamentary Systems started to show instability and short tenures of prime ministers (Britain is a good example)
So, politicians of Sudan should not dwell as a proven failed Parliamentary System.
- Other than running the civilian governance to salvage the country from economic collapse and curbing the growing violence and threats to people’s safety and security; the civilian transitional government should prepare a draft of a permanent constitution to be deliberated and by the new Parliament after elections.
- Finally, politicians should rise tall to meet the challenges of the transitional period by restraining themselves from enjoying personal vested interests.