Sudanese Opposition Leader: No Rapprochement with Army's Allies

Protests in Khartoum demanding the return of civilian rule (AP)
Protests in Khartoum demanding the return of civilian rule (AP)
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Sudanese Opposition Leader: No Rapprochement with Army's Allies

Protests in Khartoum demanding the return of civilian rule (AP)
Protests in Khartoum demanding the return of civilian rule (AP)

A leader in the opposition Forces of Freedom and Change coalition in Sudan ruled out any rapprochement with the factions that supported the army's assumption of power last October and overthrew the civilian-led government.

Member of the Central Council of the Forces Sherif Muhammad Othman said that this group disavowed the outcomes of the workshop organized by the Lawyers Association on the conceptual framework of the constitutional declaration.

The Leader of the Umma Party, Maryam al-Mahdi, revealed in recent press statements that the civil forces could soon form a transitional government to end the political stalemate in the country.

Al-Mahdi stated that the forces that will participate in the transitional government include the Forces of Freedom and Change, the Central Council, and the National Accord, which includes armed movements, Popular Resistance Committees, and civil society.

Othman told Asharq Al-Awsat that a consensus could have been reached between the opposition and the forces allied to the army in the National Accord to establish a political agreement.

However, some factions disavowed the outcomes of the workshop in which they participated.

He said that Freedom and Change seek to unite the revolutionary forces within a large bloc that includes resistance committees and civil parties to isolate the military government while maintaining contacts with other forces to agree on the formation of the civilian-led government.

Othman believes the military holding power in the country will not form an executive government after they could not find popular and political support.

"They cannot take this step because these groups supported the coup, including the national consensus forces. They will not form a good political and popular base for governance," said the official, adding that the military component does not want a genuine democratic transition.

The opposition leader stated that the military does not show any willingness to the process of civil democratic transformation.

The Freedom and Change coalition formed a committee to draft the new constitutional declaration, which will be completed soon.

The new constitutional declaration is based on removing the army from political work and the transitional authority, while the National Accord aims to make amendments to the constitutional document to maintain the military as a ruling partner.

Freedom and Change include the National Accord, the Justice and Equality Movement, the Sudan Liberation Army movement, the governor of the Darfur region, and other factions that signed the Juba Peace Agreement.

The factions supported the military measures that overthrew the civilian rule under which the army seized power on October 25.

On July 04, the head of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Lt-Gen Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, announced the withdrawal of the armed forces from the political process led by the UN tripartite mechanism to allow the civil forces to form an independent government.



4 Tunisia Women Jailed for Buying Candidate Endorsements

Tunisia's Election Commission holds a meeting. Photo: Commission website
Tunisia's Election Commission holds a meeting. Photo: Commission website
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4 Tunisia Women Jailed for Buying Candidate Endorsements

Tunisia's Election Commission holds a meeting. Photo: Commission website
Tunisia's Election Commission holds a meeting. Photo: Commission website

Tunisia has sentenced four women to jail after convicting them of buying signatures of endorsement for a would-be challenger to President Kais Saied in upcoming elections, a court spokesman said Friday.

Candidate registration for the October 6 presidential election began on Monday and closes at 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) next Tuesday, AFP reported.

Saied critics from across the political spectrum have complained that new, tougher endorsement requirements are making it nearly impossible to get on the ballot paper.

To be listed, candidates are required to provide signatures from 10,000 registered voters, with at least 500 voter signatures per constituency.

"The court sentenced three women to two-year sentences, which they began serving immediately, and another, who was tried in absentia, to four years," said Alaeddine Aouadi, spokesman for the court in the northwestern town of Jendouba.

At Wednesday's hearing, the four women were also deprived of their right to vote for 10 years, Aouadi said.

The women were convicted of handing over "money or gifts in kind" in exchange for voter endorsements for rapper turned businessman Karim Gharbi, better known by his stage name K2Rhym.