Sudan military, opposition reach power-sharing agreement

Sudan’s ruling transitional military council and a coalition of opposition and protest groups reached an agreement to share power during a transition period leading to elections, mediators said on Friday.

The two sides, which have held talks in Khartoum for the past two days, agreed to “establish a council of sovereignty by rotation between the military and civilians for a period of 3 years or slightly more,” African Union mediator Mohamed Hassan said at a news conference at dawn on Friday.

They also agreed to form an independent technocratic government and to launch a transparent, independent investigation into violent events in recent weeks.

The two sides agreed to postpone the establishment of a legislative council.

Early Friday, the Sudanese Professionals’ Association, which has spearheaded the protests said on its Facebook page: “Today, our revolution has won and our victory shines.”

The two sides had previously agreed that the Forces for Freedom and Change coalition would take two-thirds of a legislative council’s seats before security forces crushed a sit-in protest on June 3, killing dozens, and talks collapsed.

The dialogue finally resumed Wednesday after intense mediation by Ethiopian and African Union envoys, who have put forward a draft proposal to break the deadlock.

The generals seized power after the army ousted longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir following months of nationwide protests against his rule of three decades, but have resisted transferring power to a civilian administration.

(With wires)