Sudan political parties call for ‘transitional council’

KHARTOUM

The Sudanese National Front for Change (NFC) and the Umma Party have both announced their intention to submit a memorandum to President Omar al-Bashir demanding the appointment of a “transitional council” to temporarily run the country’s affairs.

The announcement was made at a Tuesday press conference organized by the NFC, an umbrella group of political parties, and the Umma Party led by Mubarak al-Fadil, a former deputy prime minister.

The NFC’s 22 member-parties include the Reform Now Party led by Ghazi Salahuddin and the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood.

The planned memorandum will reportedly call for an interim council to govern the country until a national government -- consisting of technocrats and party representatives -- can be drawn up.

It will also reportedly call for the dissolution of both chambers of parliament.

The Reform Now Party’s Salahuddin, for his part, said the party’s political bureau had decided to withdraw from the government.

“Political parties are lagging behind the street, which is united and which continues to stage demonstrations to demand al-Bashir’s departure,” he said.

“We must work on bridging the gap between the street and the political parties,” he added.

Over the course of the past two weeks, demonstrations have rocked several Sudanese states amid mounting public frustration over rampant inflation and acute commodity shortages.

The authorities say that at least 19 people have been killed in the demonstrations, which kicked off in earnest in mid-December.

Opposition groups, meanwhile, put the death toll at closer to 40.

The authorities have imposed a state of emergency in a number of states, while some government officials have accused Israel of conspiring with rebel groups to destabilize the country.

A nation of 40 million, Sudan has struggled to recover from the loss of three quarters of its oil production -- its main source of foreign currency -- following the secession of South Sudan in 2011.