Ekip
13 February 2019•Update: 14 February 2019
By Mohammed Amin
KHARTOUM
Seventeen Sudanese political parties, trade unions, youth movements and civil society groups on Wednesday signed an agreement to work together against President Omar al-Bashir and his government.
The 17 groups have reportedly thrown their support behind Sudan’s opposition Freedom and Change Coalition, of which the Sudanese Professional Association (SPA) is a leading component.
The groups include Sudan’s Change Now movement, the Girifna movement and the Sudanese Farmers Union, among several others.
Addressing a political rally after the agreement was signed, leading SPA member Mohamed al-Mustafa said that signatories would not spare any effort to oust al-Bashir and his government.
“Today we are stronger than ever before. Numerous Sudanese stakeholders have joined us,” al-Mustafa asserted.
He added: “We will work together to bring down this regime and create the democracy that our people deserve.”
Since mid-December, Sudan has been rocked by popular protest, with demonstrators decrying the failure of al-Bashir and his ruling National Congress Party (NCP) to remedy the country’s chronic economic woes.
The NCP, for its part, is reportedly pushing for a constitutional amendment that would allow al-Bashir to run for a third term in office.
Sudanese officials say around 31 people have been killed since the protests began almost two months ago, although the opposition puts the number at closer to 50.
