Several Sudanese election plans followed the Sudanese Revolution of 2019, starting with a plan to hold elections in July 2023 under the 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration.[1][2] The December 2022 "Framework Agreement" between civilian and military groups in Sudan scheduled a two-year transition to be followed by elections.[3][4][5] However, since April 2023, plans for an election have been stalled due to the ongoing civil war.
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Election plans
edit2019 transition to democracy plan
editUnder the 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration that was signed as a step of the Sudanese Revolution, general elections were scheduled to be held in Sudan in July 2023. A constitutional convention was scheduled to be held before the end of the transitional period to draft a permanent constitution for defining the form of government and electoral system.[1][2]
Constitutional ineligibility constraint
editArticle 19 of the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration forbids "the chairman and members of the Sovereignty Council and ministers, governors of provinces, or heads of regions" from running "in the public elections" planned for late 2022. Article 38.(c)(iv) of the declaration states that the chair and members of the Elections Commission are to be appointed by the Sovereignty Council in consultation with the Cabinet.[6]
October 2021 coup
editA coup was launched by military forces on October 24, 2021, which resulted in the arrests of at least five senior Sudanese government figures. Widespread Internet outages were also reported.[7] Abdalla Hamdok, the Prime Minister, was among those who were arrested and was held in an undisclosed location.[8]
On 21 November 2021, Hamdok, and all those that were arrested in the October coup were freed as Hamdok was reinstated as Prime Minister as part of an agreement with the civilian political parties. The agreement also allowed Hamdok to lead the transitional government.[9]
On 4 December 2021, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan who led the coup, told Reuters in an interview that the Sudanese military will "exit politics" following the elections stating, "When a government is elected, I don't think the army, the armed forces, or any of the security forces will participate in politics. This is what we agreed on and this is the natural situation."[10]
On 2 January 2022, Hamdok resigned as Prime Minister following violent protests in Khartoum that left fifty-seven people dead. The military assumed full control of the transition process. Hamdok, in a televised address, stated he had tried his best to stop the country from "sliding towards disaster" and "despite everything that has been done to reach a consensus... it has not happened."[11]
December 2022 Framework Agreement
editIn a new "Framework Agreement" signed by forty civilian groups, al-Burhan and Hemetti on 5 December 2022, elections following a two-year transition to a civilian government were planned.[3][4][5]
References
edit- ^ a b Kirby, Jen (6 July 2019). "Sudan's military and civilian opposition have reached a power-sharing deal". Vox. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- ^ a b "'Our revolution won': Sudan's opposition lauds deal with military". Al Jazeera English. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- ^ a b Khalid Abdelaziz; Nafisa Eltahir (5 December 2022), Sudan generals and parties sign outline deal, protesters cry foul, Thomson Reuters, Wikidata Q117793442, archived from the original on 19 April 2023
- ^ a b "Sudan's long-awaited framework agreement signed between military and civilian bodies". Radio Dabanga. 6 December 2022. Wikidata Q117787748. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023.
- ^ a b Rosalind Marsden (28 March 2023), A critical juncture for Sudan's democratic transition, Chatham House, Wikidata Q117788038, archived from the original on 28 March 2023
- ^ FFC; TMC; IDEA; Reeves, Eric (10 August 2019). "Sudan: Draft Constitutional Charter for the 2019 Transitional Period". SudanReeves.org. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ "Gunfire, protests as Sudan's military seizes power in coup". Reuters. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
- ^ "Seven killed, 140 hurt in protests against Sudan military coup". Reuters. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ^ "Sudan's Hamdok reinstated as PM after political agreement signed". Al Jazeera. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ^ "Sudan's Burhan says military will exit politics after 2023 elections". Reuters. 5 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ^ "Sudan coup: Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigns after mass protests". BBC News. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.