SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Sudan Tribune - Sudan: Dynamics of change and resistance of political parties to change

26/6/2020: Sudan Tribune - Sudan: Dynamics of change and resistance of political parties to change, by Hussein Arko Menawi

 Calling for state capabilities to be directed towards crisis management and addressing key issues, Hussein Arko Menawi warns that Sudan’s transitional period is at risk due to the ongoing marginalisation of Sudan’s peripheries by Khartoum political parties who “still see politics within conflict over their vested interests.”

 Citing the Forces of Freedom and Change’s intensified “competition over narrow privileges” and resistance to peace,  Menawi argues that “feverish political competition over power privilege and social class interests” has left Sudanese parties “stuck” in the uprisings of 1964 and 1985*, whereby “political elites were unable to address the roots of the Sudanese crisis.”

 Thus, Menawi concludes that Sudanese politics remains “static” and “stuck on old practices…failing to respond to changes while continuing to revolve within the orbit of the same old ideas.”

 *Both uprisings heralded brief democratic rule before the military restored power.  

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP - Opposition leader: Ethiopia, AU join forces in Sudan efforts

26/6/19: AP - Opposition leader: Ethiopia, AU join forces in Sudan efforts, by Hussein Malla and Samy Magdy

 AP reports that “leading opposition figure” Sadiq Al Mahdi of the Umma Party, said the African Union and Ethiopia will present a new and joint proposal for a solution to the crisis in Sudan, as they renew efforts to bring the ruling generals and protest leaders back to the negotiating table.

 The joint proposal would tackle the main points behind the current impasse, he said. These include the setup of a temporary legislative body. The Declaration of Freedom and Change has asked for a majority of seats.

 “Some have complained that the 67 percent (of seats) for the DFC means excluding us,” al-Mahdi said. “The mediation will review the shares.”

 Al-Mahdi also criticized the protesters over calls for mass demonstrations next week to pressure the military council to hand over power.