Sudanese transition to democracy (2019–2021)

Omar al-Bashir overthrew the democratically elected government of Sadiq al-Mahdi in 1989[1] and was himself overthrown in the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état, in which he was replaced by the Transitional Military Council (TMC) after months of sustained street protests.

[2] Following further protests and the 3 June Khartoum massacre, TMC and the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) alliance agreed on 5 July 2019 to a 39-month transition process to return to democracy, including the creation of executive, legislative and judicial institutions and procedures.

[15][16] After independence in 1956, the following half century included a mix of national elections, constitutions, coalition governments, coups d'état, involvement in the Chadian Civil War (2005–2010), Islamisation under the influence of Hassan al-Turabi (1989–1999) and the secession of South Sudan (2011).

[20] The Rapid Support Forces attacked people celebrating the deal in Abu Jubaiyah by beating them, firing tear gas, and shooting live bullets into the air.

[10][11] On 17 August 2019, Rabee and Hemedti signed the document more formally on behalf of the FFC and the TMC, respectively, in the presence of Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Salva Kiir, President of South Sudan, and other heads of state and government.

The decrees issued from 11 April 2019 until the date of signature of this Constitutional Charter remain in force, unless they are repealed or amended by the Transitional Military Council.

If they contradict any provisions of this Constitutional Charter, the provisions of the present Declaration prevail.Articles 3 and 5 outline what kind of state and society Sudan is, or should become: a parliamentary democracy with equal citizenship for all, that is "founded on justice, equality, and diversity and guarantees human rights and fundamental freedoms," where the rule of law prevails and "violations of human rights and international and humanitarian law" and other transgressions are punished, including those committed by the 1989–2019 regime (a point reiterated in Article 7.3).

[32] Other restrictions targeting women that were repealed included the lack of freedom of dress (by the mandatory hijab and other measures), movement, association, work and study.

[37] The Miscellaneous Amendments Act was finally signed by Sovereignty Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan[36] and published in the Official Gazette on 9 July 2020 and thus became law.

[36] As part of the ongoing peace process between the transitional government and various rebel groups, an agreement was reached on 3 September 2020 in Addis Ababa to separate religion and state and not discriminate against anyone's ethnicity in order to secure the equal treatment of all citizens of Sudan.

[37] Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) Regional Director Hala al-Karib praised the Act "as a good step in the right direction", but urged the transitional government to press on with more reforms, pointing out that the guardianship system was still enforced through other legislation such as "passports, immigration and the issuance of official documents and even the record of deaths and births".

[38] Other activists claimed there were still other forms of 'legal discrimination' that made women vulnerable to violence such as "marital rape, and [being] prevented from leaving the home, working, choosing where to live, and [being] treated less equally by other family members.

"[38] Sudanese LGBT+ activists hailed the abolition of the death penalty and flogging for anal sex as a "great first step", but said it was not enough yet, and the end goal should be the decriminalisation of gay sexual activity altogether.

[35] The TMC and FFC signed the written form of the Political Agreement on 17 July 2019[4] in front of witnesses representing the African Union, Ethiopia, and other international bodies.

[5] Article 19 of the Draft Constitutional Declaration forbids "the chairman and members of the Sovereignty Council and ministers, governors of provinces, or heads of regions" from "[running] in the public elections" that follow the 39-month transition period.

[46] The Constitutional Declaration[10][11] was signed by Ahmed Rabee for FFC and deputy head of TMC, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, on 4 August 2019, in the presence of Ethiopian and African Union mediators.

(a) of the Draft Constitutional Declaration requires the Prime Minister and members of Cabinet to be "Sudanese by birth", at least 25 years old, a clean police record for "crimes of honour".

[11] Membership is open, under Article 25, to Sudanese nationals at least 21 years old, who "[possess] integrity and competence", have not been criminally convicted for "honour, trustworthiness, or financial responsibility", and can read and write.

(2) states that all international human rights agreements, pacts, and charters ratified by the Republic of Sudan are considered to be "an integral part" of the Draft Constitutional Declaration.

[11][10] The Khartoum massacre investigation commission, headed by human rights lawyer Nabil Adib, was nominated on 20 October 2019 by Prime Minister Hamdok.

[57] The 4 August Draft Constitutional Declaration lists "achieving a just and comprehensive peace, ending the war by addressing the roots of the Sudanese problem" as Article 7.

[10] On 31 August 2020, a peace agreement was signed in Juba, South Sudan, between Sudanese authorities and rebel factions to end armed hostilities.

'[42] Protests continued during the creation of the transitionary period institutions, on issues that included the nomination of a new Chief Justice of Sudan and Attorney-General,[60] killings of civilians by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF),[61][62] the toxic effects of cyanide and mercury from gold mining in Northern state and South Kordofan,[63] protests against a state governor in el-Gadarif and against show trials of Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) coordinators,[64] and for officials of the previous government to be dismissed in Red Sea and White Nile.

Therefore, in mid-October 2020, it agreed to pay the compensation and distanced itself from the pro-terrorist activities of the Bashir regime in order to lift the anti-terrorist sanctions imposed in 1993 and obtain access to foreign loans and recover the economy.

Civilian groups including the Sudanese Professionals Association and Forces of Freedom and Change called for civil disobedience and refusal to cooperate with the coup organisers.

[75] By April 2022, it was unclear whether the Sudanese transition to democracy would continue, as the military government was strengthening its ties with Russia, including after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine started on 24 February 2022.

The deal set no date for a final agreement and left some of the controversial issues for future negotiations, leading to protests[81] by the Sudanese resistance committees.

[82] In March 2023, diplomat Rosalind Marsden described the December 2022 framework agreement as "a major step to reversing the damage" of the October 2021 coup.

She stated that possible spoilers to the democratic transition were Popular Defence Forces linked to the National Islamic Front of the former al-Bashir government, recreated under new names.

Marsden stated that supporters of the former al-Bashir government were using online social media to upset the Framework Agreement and to create division between the SAF and the RSF.