Sudanese PM Abdalla Hamdok has rejected a request by the transitional government’s military component’s commander to dissolve the Forces for Freedom and Change-majority (FFC) cabinet and install a new government that the military component supports. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the Head of the Sovereignty Council, met with Hamdok, flanked by his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo to address the country’s ongoing political turmoil.
The head of the Sovereign Council and his deputy have asked Hamdok to dissolve his cabinet and form a new government with the political factions planning a Saturday protest. He also requested him to put the “Empowerment Removal Committee” on hold in order to strengthen his grip on power. The prime minister has turned down both demands, stating that he was chosen by the FFC to oversee the country’s democratic transition following the fall of the previous regime.
On Saturday, a renegade FFC faction led by Minni Minnawi, the Sudan Liberation Movement’s leader, planned to demonstrate to demand the transitional government’s resignation. The Minnawi group accuses the main FFC of robbing them of power and excluding them.
Following a failed coup attempt on September 21, the president of the Sovereignty Council pointed at the FFC, claiming that the FFC’s ongoing power struggle has encouraged military supporters of the former regime to launch military coups.
On the other hand, Jeffrey Feltman, the United States’ Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, reiterated the importance of adhering to the Constitutional Document and cooperating to accomplish a democratic transition in Sudan. Feltman met with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on October 12 and Sovereign Council Chair Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on October 13, according to a State Department statement. He “underscored the importance of the Cabinet and the Sovereignty Council adhering to the transitional order as established in the 2019 Constitutional Declaration and the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement.”
