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A move by Sudan’s army chief to create a new body with broad powers has put him at odds with the country’s transitional government.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan heads the sovereign council of Sudan, a military-civil body established in August last year.
He is Sudan’s highest executive authority and is overseeing a fragile three-year transition to civilian rule following the April 2019 ouster of veteran strongman Omar al-Bashir.
But a recent Burhan decree has established a “Council of Transitional Partners” (CTP) that is “responsible for leading the transition period, resolving differences (between those in power), and having all the necessary prerogatives to exercise its mandate. power, “SUNA of Sudan reported the news agency.
The decree was made public earlier this week.
The transitional government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has rejected the move, saying Burhan has exceeded his prerogatives by conferring excessive powers on the new body.
Government spokesman Faisal Mohammed Saleh said in a statement on Friday that Burhan’s decree contradicted the “constitutional declaration” signed in August last year between pro-democracy activists and military generals.
“It is imperative that we declare our disagreement with the creation of the CTP in its current form,” said Saleh, who is also Minister of Culture and Information.
The government and the sovereign council agreed to limit the tasks of the new body to “coordinating and resolving disagreements that may arise during the transition period,” he added.
Local media reported that Prime Minister Hamdok told the Forces for Freedom and Change protest group his disagreement with the powers given to the CTP.
“Its function should be purely advisory and in no case should it interfere in the activities of the executive and legislative bodies, or in those of the sovereign council,” Hamdok said, according to local media citing political sources.
The Forces for Freedom and Change was the movement that led massive protests against Bashir and plays a key role in Sudanese politics.
He has also voiced his opposition to Burhan’s decree.
