Military Lt.-Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan has been sworn in as Sudan’s new leader, state news agency SUNA said on Wednesday.
The swearing-in came hours after the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the country’s pro-democracy opposition movement formed an 11-member sovereign council to lead the country through a three-year transitional period towards civilian rule.
Burhan, who chaired the TMC after former president Omar al-Bashir was ousted in an April military coup, has a long-standing military career, with positions as former commander of Sudan’s ground forces and inspector general of the army.
Born in 1960, Burhan will lead the Sovereign Council, made up of six civilians and five TMC officers, for the next 21 months.
A civilian will take over from Burhan for the remaining 18 months until 2022, when democratic elections are due.
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A prime minister and the remaining members of the Sovereign Council are expected to be sworn in later in the day.
A spokesman for the TMC announced the names of the members of the council in a televised address late Tuesday.
The council was formed after a power-sharing deal was signed between the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) and the military on August 17, regulating how power is divided.
The deal gives the pro-democracy movement two-thirds of the seats in Sudan’s Legislative Council and the power to select the prime minister.
The military council will have the power to choose the interior and defence ministers.
The interim government follows months of massive pro-democracy demonstrations in Sudan.
The protests initially led to the ousting of al-Bashir, who had ruled the country in north-eastern Africa for three decades with an iron fist.
Protesters continued to call for civilian rule in the wake of his replacement by the TMC. (NAN)
