Sudanese people chant slogans and wave Sudanese flags during a demonstration in Khartoum, Sudan, June 21, 2019. (Reuters)
Asharq Al-Awsat
Friday, 28 June, 2019 - 06:00
The Sudanese protest movement revealed on Thursday that it has received a new proposal for political transition submitted by Ethiopia and the African Union.
"The Alliance for Freedom and Change received the draft... and will be considering the proposal to make a decision," the umbrella group said in a statement.
The new proposal calls for a civilian-majority ruling council as demanded by protesters, but it fails to mention the make-up of a new transitional parliament.
The move comes after Sudan's ruling generals urged mediators from the AU and Ethiopia to unify their efforts and come up with a joint proposal on the country's transition.
It entails creating a 15-member, civilian-majority governing body for a three-year transitional period.
But it makes no mention of the composition of a legislative body.
An earlier proposal drafted by Ethiopia had stipulated a transitional parliament of 300 lawmakers, with 67 percent of them from the Alliance for Freedom and Change.
The remaining 33 percent were to be from other political groups, excluding now ousted longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir defunct National Congress Party.
On Saturday, the alliance had announced its acceptance of Ethiopia's earlier proposal but Sudan's military council expressed reservations.
In recent weeks, Ethiopia and the AU have been mediating between the military council and the pro-democracy movement demanding civilian rule.
Talks collapsed when Sudanese security forces cleared a protest camp in the capital, Khartoum, earlier this month. The deadly clampdown killed at least 128 people cross the county, according to protest organizers. Authorities say the toll is at 61, including three security forces.
The break-up of the rally came after protest leaders and the generals failed at previous talks to agree on the composition of a new ruling body and who should lead it -- a civilian or soldier.
Ethiopia's initiative was built on previous agreements between the military and the protesters. It also tackled the disputed makeup of the sovereign council, proposing a 15-member body with eight civilian and seven military members, with a rotating chairmanship.
All the civilians in the proposed council would come from the FDFC, except for one independent and "neutral" appointee, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by The Associated Press.
The Ethiopian proposal also stipulates that the military would chair the council in the first 18 months, and the FDFC the second half of the transition.
The military council, however, had refused to agree to that, saying the initiative was to pave the way for resuming talks with the FDFC, "not to offer proposals for solutions." It asked Ethiopia to present a joint proposal with the AU, which it said had handed the military a separate transition plan.
The US envoy to Sudan met Thursday with Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit in Cairo after he concluded a four-day visit to the Sudanese capital.
Donald Booth expressed America's support for the Sudanese protest movement and called for a civilian-led government amid stalled negotiations between the pro-democracy leaders and the ruling military.
The U Embassy in Khartoum said in a statement Wednesday that Booth urged the military to stop attacking protesters and allow for an independent probe into the crackdown.
