Face of Truth: The Road to the State
Ibrahim Shaglawi
The meeting that brought together President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan with the political forces in Port Sudan yesterday, Monday, January 20, 2026, which included the leaders of the Democratic Bloc, the Coordination of National Forces, and the National Movement Alliance, was an important moment. He emphasized that military force alone does not build a state, and that national legitimacy can only be restored through institutions that represent the people and protect their decisions.
The absence of the parliament since 2019 left the state exposed to internal divisions, conflicts, regional pressures, and international blackmail, making every step toward peace or political transition dependent on the ability to build real institutions.
Therefore, al-Burhan’s request to the political forces to present their visions regarding the legislative council and its timing can be understood as a necessary step long called for to reproduce legitimate authority and protect national decisions from blackmail.
The establishment of the transitional parliament has been a genuine entitlement since the first constitutional document in August 2019, then reaffirmed in its 2025 amendment, which defined its composition, membership ceiling, and guarantees for representation of peace parties and women. Yet this entitlement remained suspended between committees that are announced and then disappear, and balances managed behind the scenes, while the Sovereignty Council and the Cabinet continued to exercise temporary legislative authority lacking both representative depth and sufficient legitimacy protection. Thus, a dual predicament accumulated: an internal one manifested in the absence of oversight and accountability, and an external one observed by the people, represented in opening the door to miserable interventions attempting to shape national decisions from outside the will of the Sudanese.
In this context, the call for national unity, reconciliation, and comprehensive dialogue acquires a meaning that transcends rhetoric to necessity. A state emerging from war is not built through alignments but by expanding the legitimacy base and returning politics to its rightful owners. The forthcoming legislative council, if established with broad and balanced representation, could transform from a mere transitional body into a sovereign wall on which leadership can rely in confronting blackmail and base its decisions on war and peace.
Comparative experiences in the region give this logic its legitimacy. Countries that faced major wars and upheavals—from Egypt after 2013 to Ethiopia and Algeria during moments of transition—realized that constitutional voids are more dangerous than having a designated or temporary transitional parliament. The existence of a legislative institution, regardless of its nature, provides the state with legitimate coverage that shields its critical decisions and prevents them from becoming hostages on external tables, which have long been lying in wait, focused on their agendas.
Here, the difference between Sudan, which bleeds internally yet remains steadfast, and the disgraceful discourse networks speaking on its behalf from exile, becomes evident. The people enduring the war in all its brutality want it to end because they feel its fire daily, while many who act or scream from afar pay no price. The parliament is the only tool to organize this internal voice and translate it into a clear political will, so that critical decisions are not attributed to individuals or groups but are made in the name of national consensus representing the Sudanese and granting the necessary legitimacy to decisions.
Establishing the legislative council today will not be merely a formal completion of government structures but a strategic transformation in the path of national resilience. Only through it can Sudanese decisions regain their weight, negotiations find their institutional umbrella, and political reform launch from a solid foundation.
Only then can Sudan move from the narrowness and hardship of war to the space of peace and security, and from the logic of emergency to the horizon of a state governed by popular will, safeguarded by the constitution and values.
The stakes now go beyond power management. Citizens who have suffered past disappointments and loss of trust in political parties destroyed by conflicts are watching closely to see whether these forces can transcend narrow calculations and commit to a comprehensive national project. The transitional parliament, if established according to genuine representational standards, will be the greatest test: either parties prove their ability to protect sovereignty and defend the interests of the people, or they lose credibility forever.
Politics and security are fundamentally intertwined in Sudan. A state without strong legislative institutions is exposed to chaos, represents fertile ground for militias, and a field for external interference. Therefore, the parliament represents a tool for stability, setting limits on the exercise of arms outside the state, protecting national decisions, and transforming military victories into an effective and stable state. Every step in political transition redistributes trust between the state and society and creates a governance model that narrows the margin for lawlessness and makes it difficult for regional and international forces to impose their will.
Yet the road to the state is not completed by the parliament alone. Sudan needs a new social contract linking citizens to the state, defining clear boundaries between authority and society, and transforming institutions into mechanisms for protecting national rights. This social contract requires a comprehensive national project connecting cities to rural areas, central regions to peripheral areas, redefining intergenerational relationships, and transforming authority into responsible practice by the people, not just an extension of parties or arms.
The project must include empowering all state institutions, from the army to the police to the judiciary, with active societal participation in political decision-making so that the state becomes a platform for peace and development, not merely a tool of power.
According to #Face_of_Truth, the parliament is not an end in itself but a central tool to revive the state and reshape the relationship between citizens and authority. When it fulfills its role, real political transition occurs, and Sudan can move from the square of war and chaos to the square of a complete state: a state that protects its sovereignty, fortifies its decisions, restores citizens’ trust in their homeland, and lays the foundations for a sustainable future based on collective legitimate will and strong institutions, within a new social contract bringing all Sudanese under the roof of the true state.
Wishing you wellness and safety
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Shglawi55@gmail.com