Newly reinstated Sudanese Prime Minister Abdulla Hamdok has pledged to introduce a “technocratic government” made up of qualified professionals who will lead the country on a path to democracy nearly a month after a military coup.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Hamdok – who was deposed by the military on October 25 but reinstated as interim premier after signing a deal on Sunday with Sudan’s top general to restore the transition to civilian rule – said the new government will be independent.
Hamdok said the cabinet currently being formed will focus on establishing a constitutional conference and holding elections by June 2023, to complete “the transition to democracy and its related obligations”.
“You all know that [holding] the elections will require one full year at least, and it may drag on for one and a half years,” he said, hours after he signed the political agreement with General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Hamdok had been under house arrest by the military for weeks. The military also dissolved his cabinet and arrested a number of civilians who had held top positions under a power-sharing deal agreed after the popular overthrow of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
