Explanatory-Sudan political transition on balance Reuters

(Reuters) – Abdallah Hamdo has resigned as Prime Minister of Sudan six weeks after returning to office in a military coup in October.

The move has exacerbated uncertainty over Sudan’s political future and the transition to elections since the ouster of Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

WHY DOES HAMDOK PROVIDE?

Hamdo https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sudans-abdalla-hamdok-2022-01-02 was prime minister for more than two years under an agreement to share power between civilians and the military until. the military fired in October, accusing politicians of hostility to the military.

Under an agreement to partially overthrow the coup, he returned to head a technocratic government that was intended to run until the 2023 elections. But the main political parties were opposed to his deal with the military and Bashir was overthrown against the protest movement.

Hamdo said he would remain in office only if he could mobilize political support. But in a televised appearance on Jan. 2, he said he could not unite the polarized factions enough to move forward in the transition.

“To all our armed forces and military apparatus: the people are the ultimate ruler,” he said.

WILL IT BE REPLACED?

Although democracy activists questioned whether Hamdok’s consensus-building style could work amid the political turmoil of Sudan’s transition, he was highly respected at home and a key partner for the international community.

Military leaders worked hard to persuade him to return after the coup, and it is unclear what other figures could be called in the next one.

DOES THIS MEAN FULL MILITARY CONTROL?

Since Hamdo returned on November 21, he has backed some military appointments since the coup, including Bashir-era veterans.

Whether or not these setbacks will stick will be a test of military intent.

Well-known pro-democracy figures were released, including several former ministers, even though the arrests of protesters continued, as well as the scattering of demonstrations by security forces using tear gas and bullets. Doctors say dozens of people have been killed since October.

The “resistance committees” that organize the protests and the major political parties say they are ruling out negotiations or cooperation with the military.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

The fate of the transition will determine the balance of power in Sudan, a country of 46 million people, where a popular uprising led to decades of autocracy, internal conflict and economic isolation that made Bashir dependent.

The Hamdok government has reached an agreement to alleviate more than $ 56 billion in foreign debt, a blow that has been shaken by the coup. He underwent painful economic reforms, which he said were beginning to bear fruit in the wake of widespread scarcity and poverty.

He also agreed to take steps to normalize other Arab states to normalize relations with Israel. Transitional authorities have reached a partial peace deal with rebels in southern Sudan and Darfur, where unrest and displacement have escalated.

Sudan’s route will affect a volatile region bordering the Sahel, the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa, where international powers are competing for influence. The conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia sent tens of thousands of refugees to Sudan a year ago, and renewed tensions on farmland bordering on conflicting neighbors ’borders.