Sudan's generals, civilians sign landmark political accord

KHARTOUM (Web Desk) - Sudan's ruling generals and protesting leaders have signed a political accord creating a transitional power-sharing body, after weeks of negotiations.

The signing of the document on Wednesday by the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) alliance came after a series of delays due to disagreements over the details of an agreement reached earlier this month to establish a joint military-civilian sovereign council that will rule the country by rotation.

The two sides are still working on a much more contentious constitutional declaration, which is expected to be signed on Friday.

"The political agreement specifies that there will be five members from each side in the sovereign council, which effectively will be the presidency of the country,"  Al Jazeera's Hiba Morgan said from Addis Ababa in neighbouring Ethiopia. "There will be members nominated by the FFC to the executive council which will be considered the ministers," she added. "The document doesn't mention what roles the sovereign and executive councils will have - that will be defined in the constitutional declaration, which is going to be the core of the transitional agreement."

'Huge achievement'

The TMC and the opposition coalition have been wrangling for weeks over what form Sudan's transitional government should take after the military deposed President Omar al-Bashir on April 11 after months of mass protests against his 30-year rule. Protesters had remained in the streets following al-Bashir's toppling, fearing the generals intended to cling to power or preserve some form of authoritarian rule. Long-stalled talks between the TMC and the opposition alliance collapsed after the deadly dispersal of a protest camp in Khartoum on June 3. Direct talks were later revived after mediation efforts by the African Union and Ethiopia. "The signing of the document is a huge achievement representing a very decisive step towards an all-inclusive agreement amongst all the forces in Sudan," Mohammed El Hassan Labat, African Union special envoy, said on Wednesday at a press conference in the capital, Khartoum. "It ushers a new era and paves the way for the upcoming step … [which involves] consideration and deliberations over the constitutional document for the transitional period," he added.