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Transitional Sovereignty Council

For other uses, see Sudanese Sovereignty Council.

The Transitional Sovereignty Council (Arabic: مجلس السيادة الإنتقالي, romanized: Majlis al-Siyādah al-Intiqālī)[2][3] is the collective head of state of Sudan, formed on 20 August 2019, by the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration.[4][5][6] It was dissolved by Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in the October 2021 Sudanese coup d'état and reconstituted the following month with new membership,[1] effectively changing it from a unity government to a military junta.[7][8]

Transitional Sovereignty Council
مجلس السيادة الإنتقالي (Arabic)
Logo of the TSC
Overview
Established11 November 2021 (2021-11-11) (current)
20 August 2019 (2019-08-20) (first)
Dissolved25 October 2021 (2021-10-25) (first)
StateSudan
LeaderChairman (Abdel Fattah al-Burhan)
Appointed byAbdel Fattah al-Burhan (current)[1]
August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration (first)
Websitewww.presidency.gov.sd/eng/

Under Article 10.(b) of the Draft Constitutional Declaration, it is composed of five civilians chosen by the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance (FFC), five military representatives chosen by the Transitional Military Council (TMC), and a civilian selected by agreement between the FFC and TMC. The chair for the first 21 months was to be a military member, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and for the remaining 18 months the chair was to be a civilian member, under Article 10.(c).[5] The original Sovereignty Council was mostly male, with only two female members: Aisha Musa el-Said and Raja Nicola.[9] Under Article 19 of the Draft Constitutional Declaration, the Sovereignty Council members are ineligible to run in the election scheduled to follow the transition period.[4][5]

Background

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Sudan had multi-member Sovereignty Councils holding the role of head of state of Sudan several times during the twentieth century. Following more than half a year of sustained civil disobedience and a shift of the presidency from Omar al-Bashir to the Transitional Military Council (TMC) in April 2019 by a coup d'etat, the TMC and the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance (FFC) made a July 2019 Political Agreement[10][11] and completed it by the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration.[4][5][6] Articles 9.(a) and 10.(a) of the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration both transfer the role of head of state to the Sovereignty Council.[5]

Structure and membership

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Article 10.(b) of the Draft Constitutional Declaration defines the Sovereignty Council to consist of five civilians chosen by the FFC, five military chosen by the TMC, and a civilian "selected by agreement" between the FFC and TMC.[5]

Under Article 10.(c) of the Draft Constitutional Declaration, for the first 21 months of the 39-month transitional period defined by the document, the chair of the Sovereignty Council was to be chosen by the five military members of the council. For the following 18 months, the chair was to be chosen by the five civilian members selected by the FFC.[5]

The military membership of the Sovereignty Council included General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, General Hemedti, Lieutenant-General Yasser al-Atta,[6] General Shams al-Din Khabbashi and Major-General Ibrahim Jabir Karim.[9][12] Hemedti has been the deputy chairman of the Sovereignty Council in the past.[12]

The five civilians chosen by the FFC are Aisha Musa el-Said of the National Gathering Initiative; Siddiq Tawer, a prominent member of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Region of Sudan[9] (and thereby a member of the National Consensus Forces)[13] from the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan; Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman of the Unionist Gathering from Northern Sudan; Hassan Sheikh Idris (or Hassan Mohamed Idris),[14][9] a prominent member of the National Umma Party (and thereby a member of Sudan Call)[13] from Kassala; and Mohammed Hassan Osman al-Ta'ishi[15][9] of the Sudanese Professionals Association.[13] Taha Othman Ishaq (or Osman), a lawyer and member of the FFC negotiating committee, declined his nomination by the FFC to the Sovereignty Council on the grounds that the FFC alliance had earlier agreed that members of the negotiating committee should not become members of the Sovereignty Council.[16]

Raja Nicola was the civilian member of the Sovereignty Council mutually chosen by the FFC and TMC.[17] The choice of Nicola, as a member of the Sudanese Copt community, is seen as a symbol of respect for diversity, in particular to Sudanese Christians.[17]

On 5 February 2021, al-Burhan issued a decree to add three new members to the Council.[18] The new members are Sudanese Revolutionary Front leader El Hadi Idris Yahya, Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North leader Malik Agar, and Sudan Liberation Movement for Justice-Karbino leader El Tahrir Abubakr Hajar.

List of members (pre-coup)

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The council had fourteen members as follows:

List of members (post-coup)

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Al-Burhan reinstated the TSC on 11 November 2021 with the same military and rebel members, but with all but one of the civilian members replaced.[1] He left the seat for a civilian representative from Eastern Sudan vacant. The members are:[19]

Women's participation

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The Sovereignty Council was mostly male, with two of the eleven members being female: Aisha Musa el-Said and Raja Nicola.[21][15] At a lower level, Siham Osman was nominated Under-Secretary of the Minister of Justice, and acts on behalf of the Minister of Justice with his authorisation when he is on travels.[22]

The Sudanese Women's Union argued that women had played as significant a role as men in the political changes of 2019 and that Sudanese women "claim an equal share of 50-50 with men at all levels, measured by qualifications and capabilities".[21]

Ineligibility in 2022

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Under Article 19 of the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration, the eleven members of the Sovereignty Council of the transitional period were forbidden (along with ministers and other senior transition leaders) from running in the 2022 Sudanese general election scheduled to end the transitional period.[5][4]

Powers

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Article 11.(a) lists 17 political powers held by the Sovereignty Council, including the appointment of the Prime Minister, confirmation of leaders of certain state bodies, the right to declare war or a state of emergency, and signing and ratifying national and international agreements.[5]

Separation of powers

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On 24 October, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) claimed that civilian members of the Sovereignty Council violated the constitutional constraints on their power by appearing to coordinate with Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and override the Ministry of Health's role in managing vector control against the spread of dengue fever and chikungunya. The SPA stated, "the campaign appeared to be the scene of direct interaction of the [RSF] with the health situation in the concerned states, in the absence of health departments at the federal or state level. ... [The] whole issue of health is not the prerogative of the Sovereign Council." Sudan Tribune expressed concern that the RSF and its leader Hemetti were trying to improve the RSF's image,[23] damaged by its carrying out of crimes against humanity in the War in Darfur[24] and human rights violations during the 3 June 2019 Khartoum massacre.[25]

Decision-making

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Under Article 11.(c) of the Draft Constitutional Declaration, the Sovereignty Council makes decisions either by consensus, or when consensus is not possible, by a two-thirds majority (eight members).[5]

Actions

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The Council announced a state of emergency in Port Sudan during tribal clashes which resulted in the death of 16 people on 26 August 2019.[26]

In November 2019, Abdalla Hamdok's government repealed all laws restricting women's freedom of dress, movement, association, work and study. On 22 April 2020, the transitional government issued an amendment to its criminal legislation which declares that anyone who performs female genital mutilation either in a medical establishment or elsewhere will be punished by three years' imprisonment and a fine.[27]

Dissolution

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On 25 October 2021, in the 2021 Sudan coup d'état, Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved the Council and removed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok from office.[28][29][30] He re-formed the TSC with new membership on November 11, 2021.[1] On November 21, 2021, al-Burhan signed a deal with Hamdok that reinstated him as prime minister, provided for the release of all political prisoners detained in the coup, and restored the 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration.[31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Sudan army chief names new governing Sovereign Council". Al Jazeera. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  2. ^ Nashed, Mat (21 March 2023). "As Sudan's rival forces vie for power, who pays the price?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Transitional Sovereignty Council". Twitter. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d FFC; TMC (4 August 2019). "(الدستوري Declaration (العربية))" [(Constitutional Declaration)] (PDF). raisethevoices.org (in Arabic). Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j FFC; TMC; IDEA; Reeves, Eric (10 August 2019). "Sudan: Draft Constitutional Charter for the 2019 Transitional Period". sudanreeves.org. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019. Archived 27 October 2021 at archive.today
  6. ^ a b c "Sudan protest leaders, military sign transitional government deal". Al Jazeera English. 17 August 2019. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  7. ^ Gavin, Michelle (8 April 2022). "Junta and Public at Odds in Sudan". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  8. ^ Jeffrey, Jack (23 October 2022). "Analysis: Year post-coup, cracks in Sudan's military junta". Associated Press. Cairo, Egypt. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Al-Burham forms Sudan's Sovereign Council". Sudan Tribune. 21 August 2019. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  10. ^ "'Our revolution won': Sudan's opposition lauds deal with military". Al Jazeera English. 5 July 2019. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  11. ^ FFC; TMC; Idris, Insaf (17 July 2019). "Political Agreement on establishing the structures and institutions of the transitional period between the Transitional Military Council and the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces" (PDF). Radio Dabanga. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Sudan: Constitutional Decree On Appointment of Sovereignty Council Issued". allAfrica.com. 21 August 2019.
  13. ^ a b c "Sudan's Sovereign Council appointed". Radio Dabanga. 21 August 2019. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Sudan opposition coalition appoints five civilian members of sovereign council". Thomson Reuters. 18 August 2019. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  15. ^ a b "FFC finally agree on nominees for Sudan's Sovereign Council". Sudan Tribune. 20 August 2019. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  16. ^ "Sudan's Sovereign Council delayed for 48 hours: spokesperson". Sudan Tribune. 19 August 2019. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Sudan moves towards forming Sovereign Council". Sudan Tribune. 19 August 2019. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  18. ^ "Sudan Sovereignty Council gains three new members under El Burhan". Radio Dabanga. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Sudan coup leader restores restructured Sovereignty Council". Radio Dabanga. Khartoum. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  20. ^ "Sudan's Burhan dismisses Hemedti of his position". Al Bawaba. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  21. ^ a b "Sudanese Women's Union protests FFC nominees". Radio Dabanga. 18 August 2019. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Interview with Siham Osman: The first woman to hold the position of Under-Secretary at Sudan's Ministry of Justice". Radio Dabanga. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Sudanese professionals slam participation of Sovereign Council members in RSF campaign". Sudan Tribune. 25 October 2019. Archived from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  24. ^ Loeb, Jonathan (9 September 2015). ""Men With No Mercy" – Rapid Support Forces Attacks against Civilians in Darfur, Sudan". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  25. ^ Lynch, Justin (5 June 2019). "Remember The Darfur Genocide? With Saudi Help, One of the Killer Commanders There Is Taking Over Sudan". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  26. ^ "Sudan's sovereign council declares state of emergency in Port Sudan". Reuters. 26 August 2019. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  27. ^ "Sudan criminalises FGM in 'new era' for women's rights". MEO. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  28. ^ "Sudan's Burhan declares state of emergency, dissolves government". Reuters. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  29. ^ "'Utterly unacceptable': World reacts to Sudan 'coup'". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  30. ^ "Live: Sudan's General Burhan dissolves government, declares state of emergency". France 24. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  31. ^ "Sudan's reinstated PM Hamdok promises a path to democracy". Al Jazeera. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
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