Sudanese Parties Inch Closer towards Resolving Crisis

Sudanese protesters chant slogans during a sit-in outside the army headquarters in the capital Khartoum on May 1, 2019. (AFP)
Sudanese protesters chant slogans during a sit-in outside the army headquarters in the capital Khartoum on May 1, 2019. (AFP)
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Sudanese Parties Inch Closer towards Resolving Crisis

Sudanese protesters chant slogans during a sit-in outside the army headquarters in the capital Khartoum on May 1, 2019. (AFP)
Sudanese protesters chant slogans during a sit-in outside the army headquarters in the capital Khartoum on May 1, 2019. (AFP)

Sudanese parties inched closer towards resolving their country’s crisis after the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) alliance and transitional military council agreed, in principle, to proposals by a panel of experts to bridge divides between them.

The DFCF and military rulers have been deadlocked over the formation of a joint civilian-military body to oversee the period following the overthrow of long-term president Omar al-Bashir following months of mass protests.

The parties are deadlocked over who would control the new council, and what the features of a transitional government would be.

The protesters have been holding negotiations with the military council over the creation of the new sovereign council, but the two sides remain divided over how large a role the generals should have in it.

The army has been pushing for a 10-member council including seven military representatives and three civilians. The coalition is demanding a council made up of eight civilians and seven generals.

The expert panel, comprised of national figures, proposed the formation of a sovereign council made up of seven civilians and three generals and a joint defense council of seven generals and three civilians.

The military rulers have agreed to the suggestion.

Member of the DFCF Sateh Ahmed al-Hajj told Asharq Al-Awsat that the coalition will later hold a meeting to examine the panel’s draft proposal, most notably the idea to form a separate sovereign council and a defense one.

Another member, Amjad Farid said that the coalition will agree to the formation of two councils.

He added that the protesters will continue their rallies until the revolution achieves its goals and until civilian rule is established.



Lebanon's New President Says to Ensure State Has Exclusive Right to Carry Arms

This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)
This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)
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Lebanon's New President Says to Ensure State Has Exclusive Right to Carry Arms

This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)
This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)

Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun told lawmakers on Thursday that he will work to ensure the state has the exclusive right to carry arms, in his first speech at parliament after he was elected.

His comments were seen partly as a reference to Hezbollah's arsenal, which he had not commented on publicly as the former army commander.

In a first round of voting Thursday, Aoun received 71 out of 128 votes but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to win outright. Of the rest, 37 lawmakers cast blank ballots and 14 voted for “sovereignty and the constitution.”
In the second round, he received 99 votes.

In his speech in parliament, Aoun also pledged to carry out reforms to the judicial system and fight corruption.

He promised to control the country’s borders and “ensure the activation of the security services and to discuss a strategic defense policy that will enable the Lebanese state to remove the Israeli occupation from all Lebanese territories” in southern Lebanon, where the Israeli military has not yet withdrawn from dozens of villages.

He also vowed to reconstruct “what the Israeli army destroyed in the south, east and (Beirut’s southern) suburbs.”

Thursday’s vote came weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement halted a 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and at a time when Lebanon’s leaders are seeking international assistance for reconstruction.

Aoun said he would call for parliamentary consultations as soon as possible on naming a new prime minister.