Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok met on Sunday with the 18 newly-appointed governors.
On Wednesday, he named new civilian governors to run the country’s 18 states, replacing military officials in a step long demanded by the pro-democracy movement.
Hamdok directed the new governors to maintain security and address the living crises facing Sudanese citizens.
Appointing two female governors for the first time in the history of Sudan is a step in the right direction to enhance women’s participation in the various governing bodies.
The governors are scheduled to take oath on Monday before the Head of the Transitional Sovereign Council and the Chief Justice, in the Premier’s presence.
Hamdok pointed out that relevant authorities have finished enacting the Federal Governance Law, which will be soon approved by the transitional authority’s institutions.
The new law has taken into consideration the revolution and state issues, Hamdok stressed, noting that he discussed with the new governors the main challenges facing the states in general.
Citizens in the eastern states of Kassala and the Red Sea, and the northern state of the River Nile closed the main roads and burned tires to protest the newly appointed figures.
The constitutional document signed between civilians and the military body has given the Forces of Freedom and Change Alliance, which constitutes the political reference for the transitional government, the right to nominate governors to be later approved by the Transitional Sovereign Council.
Meanwhile, Sudanese authorities arrested on Sunday Ibrahim Ahmed Omar, former parliament speaker during Bashir’s rule, in light of his participation in a demonstration condemning legal amendments recently made by the transitional government on some laws.
Arab nationals who participated in the same demonstration and chanted slogans against the Sudanese government have also been arrested.
Authorities have arrested dozens of Islamist leaders and placed the speaker of the dissolved parliament in house arrest for more than seven months after ousting former President Omar al-Bashir.
The North African country, where Bashir was overthrown in April 2019, is being run by a power-sharing government of civilian and army figures until elections due in 2022.
