Khartoum,April 1(Darfur24) The signing of a final political agreement in Sudan was delayed due to a lack of “consensus on some outstanding issues”, the spokesperson of the negotiation process Khalid Omer Yousif said early on Saturday in a statement.
The final accord to name a civilian government this month and launch a new transition towards elections was originally to be signed on Saturday.
Disagreements surfaced this week over the timeline for integrating the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the military, a move called for in a framework deal for the new transition signed in December.
The signing of the final agreement was scheduled for Saturday, April 1, after which a transitional constitution was to be adopted on April 6.
A meeting will be held Sunday to set a new date for signing the final political agreement; the statement said.
The framework agreement aiming to create a transitional civil authority in Sudan was signed in December in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, at a meeting attended by the head of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and opposition leaders, as well as international mediators. The agreement provides for the appointment of a prime minister and a subsequent transitional period of two years, followed by a general election.
In October of 2021, the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, overthrew the government in a military coup, declaring a state of emergency and establishing a transitional sovereign council under his leadership. Subsequent protests forced Burhan to sign a pact stipulating the reinstatement of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, releasing all political prisoners, holding elections in July 2023 and handing power to an elected civilian government.
The political crisis persisted, however, and Hamdok stepped down on January 2, 2022.