More protests expected as Sudanese transitional government starts talks with rebel groups
The Sudanese Communist Party and a workers’ union are expected to lead mass nationwide demonstrations today.
Their principal demand is the removal of former regime officials from the transitional government. While they support the return to civilian rule that the transitional government aims for, the Communists and other groups have refused to join the Transitional Sovereignty Council—made up of civilian and military leaders to rule Sudan until elections are held in 2022.
The protests today highlight the precarious situation that the transitional government faces in bringing peace and stability to Sudan. Expect other groups not signed up to the transitional authority to join the Communists on the streets. However, the numbers will likely be less than the tens of thousands that turned out in the June protests because the parties aligned with the government are not supporting these demonstrations.
The Communists’ demands are unlikely to be met because it has been painstaking just to get this far. However, the mass protests, especially if security forces crackdown violently, could undermine Sudanese public confidence in the government’s authority to rule. Ultimately, such a scenario risks unravelling the efforts to establish the Transitional Sovereignty Council and would also discourage other rebel and civilian groups not signed-up to the transitional government from joining.
