Sudan Selects First Civilian Government in Decades

Sudan will promptly disclose the composition of its first government since the ousting of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir amid months of massive protests. 

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The northeast African country’s first civilian prime minister in three decades, Abdalla Hamdok, has approved 14 nominations to his new administration, according to Reuters. 

The first woman to serve as foreign minister in the country, Asmaa Abdallah, was among the ministers appointed. 

In a press conference held Tuesday in the capital Khartoum, the premier who did not mention the appointments said it would be "logical" for women to receive fair representation in the new government as "the women of my country were on the frontline of this revolution."

"Sudan's economic challenge is a big challenge, but we can tackle it," Hamdok also said. "In the near-term, we need to address the shortage of commodity items (sugar, flour, and petroleum)."

"On the currency front, we need to stop inflation, deal with the exchange rate of the national currency, and restore confidence to the banking system," Hamdok added, explaining he hoped to do so within the first year.

Alongside Hamdok’s cabinet, leading a three-year transition to elections, the military will rule a Sovereign Council for the first 21 months as part of the power-sharing agreement made with Sudan's opposition.

The civilian opposition in the country has been protesting since last year against Bashir first and since April against the military council that took power after him, refusing to hand it to the civilians. 

The opposition coalition Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), which negotiated to share the power with the military, has been negotiating with the prime minister since last week to decide who would hold the positions in the government. 

The defense and interior ministers were nominated by the military. 

Hamdok, a former UN economist, was sworn in as the prime minister Aug. 21, vowing to work towards fixing Sudan's ravaged economy. 

He also called for Sudan to be removed from the United States blacklist of countries accused of supporting terror, saying it was necessary to remove restrictions in order to improve the economy. 

However, discrepancies remain as a coalition of Sudanese rebel groups, the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), said the Sudanese communities living far from the capital's elite are not represented and said the FFC is "stealing the revolution."