The members of the ‘troika’ for Sudan and the European Union (EU) have called on “all political actors” to initiate an “inclusive dialogue” for the formation of a civilian government to complete the transition process in Sudan.

The signatories–the United States, the United Kingdom and Norway, as well as the EU–said that “this process must produce an agreement that defines a clear timetable for free and fair elections, procedures for electing a transitional prime minister and other senior officials, and a dispute resolution mechanism to help avoid future political crises.”

They also stressed that they “take note” of the announcement by the army chief and chairman of the Sovereign Transitional Council, Abdelfattah al-Burhan, that the military has withdrawn from the political talks.

“We recognize the declared intention of the military forces to withdraw from the political scene once there is agreement between the civilian parties to form a transitional government,” they said, before stressing that “the army and security forces must fulfill this commitment.”

“They must also put an end to violence against civilians and hold accountable those responsible for extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations and abuses,” they said in their joint statement.

In this regard, they have emphasized that “a transitional government must be civilian-led, broad-based and have national support.” “There must also be clarity and oversight over the role and responsibilities of the Army. These matters cannot be unilaterally defined by the Army and require dialogue and transparency to help avoid future disputes,” they have argued.

The signatories have further endorsed the efforts of the tripartite mechanism – comprising the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), the African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) – to “facilitate this inclusive dialogue” and reiterated their regret at “the continued loss of life and reversal of important economic and political progress nearly three years after Sudan began its transition to democracy.”

“We applaud the commitment of the Sudanese people to a more peaceful and just future and honor the sacrifices of those who have lost their lives in support of democracy. The ‘troika’ and the EU look forward to supporting a civilian transitional government that enjoys popular support and reflects the shared hopes and aspirations of the Sudanese people,” they concluded.

Al Burhan announced on July 4 that the army will not participate in the negotiations under the auspices of the tripartite mechanism and urged the political forces to push for “serious dialogue immediately” to “restore the unity of the Sudanese people”. Once this agreement is reached, the Sovereign Transitional Council will be dissolved and a Security and Defense Council will be formed.

The coup d’état of October 2021 led to the dismissal of the civilian Prime Minister, Abdullah Hamdok, although international pressure forced an agreement to reinstate him in November, which caused him to lose support among the opposition and revolutionary forces.

However, Hamdok resigned in January in protest against the repression of the demonstrations and after the military authorities expelled various civilian groups from the Executive, arguing that they were acting against the interests of the State.

The transitional authorities were set up following an agreement between the previous military junta, which emerged after the 2019 coup against Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and various civilian organizations and opposition political groups. This government had initiated a battery of social and economic reforms and has reached a peace agreement with major rebel groups in Darfur and other parts of the country.