TMC and FFC Sign Power-Sharing Deal

Sudan’s ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) and Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) have signed a power-sharing agreement after intense overnight talks to finalise the agreement on the joint sovereign council that will rule for at least three years and three months until democratic elections are held in 2022.

Deputy Head of TMC, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), signed the agreement along with Ahmed Rabie, a member of FFC and the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), in Corinthia Hotel Khartoum. A committee of lawyers, including jurists from the African Union (AU), oversaw the finalising and signing of the agreement.

The two sides first reached the power-sharing agreement on 5 June 2019. The agreement was expected to be finalised and signed on 8 June. However, it was delayed for ‘further consultations’. According to the agreement, the new joint 11-member military-civilian sovereign council that will rule the country by rotation for a period of at least three years and three months. The council will be headed by a military general during the first 21 months of the transition, followed by a civilian for the remaining 18 months. 

It will have a total of five military representatives and six civilians, five of which are from the SPA and FFC. The two sides also agreed the FFC would appoint a cabinet of ministers. A legislative council will be formed after the appointment of the sovereign council and the cabinet.

One of the main reasons the signing of the agreement was delayed was due to the TMC asking that the military and its Rapid Support Forces (RSF) be given ‘absolute immunity’ against prosecution for violence against protesters. It is still unclear whether the signed agreement will grant them immunity. The SPA strongly opposed giving the military absolute immunity. As per the agreement that was reached on 5 June, the TMC and FFC agreed to launch an independent investigation into the violence that began on 3 June 2019 when RSF and other paramilitary forces raided the monthslong mass sit-in in front of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), killing at least 120 people and injuring more than 300. In addition, an independent national commission of inquiry will be set up to investigate events since former Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir removal in April 2019.

In addition, the agreement does not determine what roles the sovereign council and the cabinet will have. It is expected that these role will be defined in the constitutional declaration, which is the core of the transitional agreement. The TMC and FFC are still negotiating over the constitutional declaration, which is expected to be signed on Friday, 19 July.

The TMC seized power in April 2019 after the overthrow of 30-year dictator Al Bashir in a military coup on 11 April. Protests in Sudan continued, demanding for a civilian-led interm government to rule. Since Al Bashir’s removal, the TMC and FFC have been disputing for months over Sudan’s transitional government.

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