Sudan gets PM for first time in 28 years

By Mohamed Elkhatem and Afra Aksoy

KHARTOUM, Sudan

For the first time in 28 years Sudan has a prime minister, presidential assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud said Wednesday.

Bakri Hassan Saleh was appointed to the post by President Omar al-Bashir, according to Mahmoud, who spoke at a news conference. "Saleh will also continue his duty as the president's first assistant” and form a Cabinet while consulting with partners who attended a national dialog process, Mahmoud said.

Al-Bashir eliminated the post of prime minister when he came to power in 1989 following a bloodless coup.

But late last year, the president proposed constitutional reforms that included the appointment of a prime minister.

Al-Bashir launched a national dialogue in 2015 in an attempt to end insurgencies in Sudan’s border regions but last October the talks were boycotted by the main opposition parties.

Participants proposed the formation of a national unity government and drafting a new Constitution to help resolve the country’s woes.

Sudan currently has a transitional Constitution that was adopted in 2005, before the 2011 split by the country’s south following a two-decade-old civil war.