Political Crisis in Sudan

In News

• Recently, Sudan’s civilian Prime Minister (PM) resigned, plunging the country into further turmoil. 

Background

• The PM was sacked by the military in October 2021 and reinstated a few weeks later as part of a deal. 
• Anti-military protests continue to rock the country.
• The protesters rejected the PM’s deal with the military and demanded the Generals hand over power to an independent civilian authority.

Image Courtesy: Africa 

Background

• Prime Ministership: 
  • Mr. Hamdock was appointed as PM in 2019 post the formation of the Sovereignty Council, an 11-member body comprising military and civilian leaders that replaced the military-led transition council.
• Military rift: 
  • The military was unable to digest an equal sharing of powers and started processes to gain back political power of the country. 
  • In 2021, they disbanded the council, declared an emergency and arrested all civilian leaders including Mr. Hamdock, triggering massive protests.
• Civil protests because of taking away democracy 
  • Unable to deal with the rising protests, the military attempted to pacify the protesters by reinstating Mr. Hamdock but without the Sovereignty Council which leaves him powerless. 
  • The people did not accept this and continued their demonstration against the military coup which led to Mr. Hamdock stepping down.
• Military coup:

• Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the military chief, was scheduled to hand over the leadership of the transitional government to the civilian leadership last year. 
• Instead, he disbanded the government, proclaimed himself the new leader, declared a state of emergency and imprisoned the civilian leaders, including Mr. Hamdok, in October 2021. 
• The military was preparing the ground ahead of the coup.
• But General Burhan failed to mobilise support after the coup. 
• As protests continued, he reinstated Prime Minister Hamdok, but without the Sovereignty Council. This meant that the military could exercise greater control over the civilian government.  

• Other Protests: 
  • Pro-military mobs had carried out protests demanding the government’s removal amid soaring prices of essentials. 
  • Port Sudan, the country’s largest port, on the Red Sea, had been blockaded by a tribal group, with help from the military, which worsened the economic situation, including acute shortages of food, currency and fuel. 

Recent Developments

• Given that the civil-military relationship is already at a breaking point, the Generals establishing direct rule—the Myanmar model—would be extremely unpopular. 
• The military wants a civilian Prime Minister without any real powers. 

Effects

• Economic:
  • This political crisis is being played out at a time when Sudan is going through a severe economic crisis. 
  • Inflation has soared to over 400% in recent months. 
  • After months of recovery and stability, the exchange rates of the Sudanese pound started to decline again against major foreign currencies, especially the U.S. dollar, two days after the resignation.
• Failed Democracy:
  • The UN estimates that at least a third of the country’s 43 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2022.
  • Reforms at home and international recognition suggested that Sudan was on a slow but steady transition into full democracy. But then the military struck again.
• Scarcity of Essentials:
  • The Sudanese authorities have not yet been able to approve the 2022 budget, and as a result of the scarcity of resources, the authorities are moving towards lifting subsidies from vital sectors, including gases and bread, and also decided to implement a new increase in electricity prices by more than 600 percent
• Civil-military relations
  • The military wants a civilian Prime Minister without any real powers. 
  • Given that the civil-military relationship is already at a breaking point, the Generals establishing direct rule—the Myanmar model—would be extremely unpopular. 
• Kleptocracy: 
  • Since independence Sudan has been governed, with only occasional breaks, by an Arab elite in Sudan.
  • It is bent on plundering the country’s considerable wealth at the expense of its people.
  • Kleptocracy is a government whose corrupt leaders use political power to appropriate the wealth of their nation, typically by embezzlement or misappropriation of government funds at the expense of the wider population.

Way Ahead

• Sudan needs a stable, responsive government that can urgently address the myriad problems the country faces and it should be done through a democratic transition.

Source: TH