Will lawyers' initiative get Sudan out of crushing political crisis?

The Sudanese Bar Association's Steering Committee said that it will present its draft of the transitional constitution for the year 2022 to the political and civil forces for consultation.

On Saturday, September 10, the committee submitted its transitional constitutional proposal to the Trilateral Mechanism that includes the United Nations Mission in Khartoum, the African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), as well as a copy of the draft constitution.

“The Trilateral Mechanism met today with the Bar Association’s Steering Committee and received their proposal on constitutional arrangements to guide the transition to democratic rule,” said the facilitation panel in a tweet on Saturday.

The transitional constitution is the result of the recommendations of a workshop organized by the committee in August with wide political and international participation.

In addition to the political forces that participated in the workshop, the committee said that it intends to hand over the draft to forces that did not participate in the workshop, including the Communist Party, the SPLA-North led by Abdel Aziz Al-Hilu, and the Sudan Liberation Movement headed by Abdel Wahed Nour, in order to create the greatest consensus on the issue.

The draft transitional constitution deals with civil issues of the state and its institutions, ensuring religious freedom, the independence of the press and universities, and integrating the Rapid Support Forces and armed movements into the army, which is prohibited from engaging in commercial and investment activities.

The draft constitution also stipulated that the political forces reach a political agreement to give them the powers to choose members of the Sovereignty Councils, the ministers and the legislature, in addition to the governors of the regions and the states, the chief justices and the Constitutional Court.

International reaction

The embassies of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden, in a joint statement, praised the draft transitional constitution.

The joint statement welcomed the principles embodied in the draft prepared by the Bar Association’s Steering Committee and considered them crucial to achieving an effective system of governance for the civilian transition.

FFC reveals date for choosing prime minister

The Central Council of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) announced, in a statement issued Thursday, September 8, its support for the initiative of the Sudanese Bar Association, confirming its involvement in the subsequent stages of discussions.

The FFC also called on all civil, democratic political components and resistance committees to engage in discussion of the draft until a constitutional framework governing the transitional period is agreed upon.

FFC leader Shehab al-Tayeb said in an interview with the Sudan Tribune that the coalition intends to discuss the selection of the prime minister after agreeing on the constitutional declaration.

Al-Tayeb said that the coalition pays attention to the constitutional arrangements that guarantee not to return to the conditions that threatened the democratic transition, namely the relationship of the military institution with politics, and the levels and powers of authority.

On October 25, 2021, a military coup led by General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan overthrew the Freedom and Change Alliance from the government after a year of power-sharing.

Many political forces have thrown out initiatives to get out of the stifling political crisis that hit the country after the army's coup against former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government. Perhaps it was the lawyers' initiative that won the most international and local agreement.