Mon 09 September 2019:
Sudan swore in its first cabinet since the removal of former president Omar al-Bashir in April following nationwide protests against his rule.
The 18-member cabinet led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, which includes four women, took the oath at the presidential palace in Khartoum on Sunday.
The new members include Sudan’s first female Foreign Minister Asmaa Abdalla, and a former World Bank economist Ibrahim Ahmad al-Badawi as finance minister.
The cabinet is expected to steer the daily affairs of the country during a transition period of 39 months until the general elections.
The line-up was formed after Sudan last month swore in a “sovereign council” – a joint civilian-military ruling body that aims to oversee the transition.
The 18 ministers were seen greeting members of the sovereign council, including its chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in images broadcast by state television from the palace.
The sovereign council itself is the result of a power-sharing deal between protesters and generals who seized power after the army removed Bashir in April.
Hamdok is still negotiating with the pro-democracy movement over the last two cabinet posts.
“We have to put in a lot of efforts to meet our people’s demands,” Information Minister Faisal Mohamed Saleh told reporters after the swearing-in ceremony.
“The world is watching us. It is waiting to see how we can solve our issues.”
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