Sudan Prime Minister Resigns After Just Over Two Months Since Military Coup

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] Abdalla Hamdok, the Prime Minister of Sudan who was reinstated after being detained in a military coup, has ultimately resigned. With the resignation of the civilian prime minister of the transitional government who had been negotiating with the military, evaluations suggest that the future transfer to civilian rule has become even more uncertain.

According to foreign media including the Associated Press, on the 2nd (local time), Prime Minister Hamdok announced his resignation in a national address on state television, stating, "This will be an opportunity to hand over the country to someone else and complete the transition to a 'civilian, democratic state'." He argued that "the transitional government did its best amid conflicts but failed to reach an agreement," and emphasized the need for a new consultative body to discuss the transfer to civilian rule.

Since the military coup in October last year, protests against the coup have continued across Sudan, including in the capital Khartoum. Reports indicated that at least two people died from military gunfire even before the prime minister’s resignation on that day. According to local medical organizations, the death toll since the coup on October 25 last year is at least 56. Hundreds have also been injured. There have been reports of sexual crimes, including rape by the military, targeting female protesters.

Prime Minister Hamdok was a civilian leader who took office after former President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled dictatorially for 30 years, stepped down in 2019. Since then, the Sudanese military and opposition parties formed a Sovereignty Council to discuss elections and the transfer to civilian rule. However, General Abdel Fattah Burhan, the military leader of the Sovereignty Council, staged a coup in October last year, placing Hamdok under house arrest, though he returned to the prime minister position in late November of the same year.

At the time of his reinstatement, Hamdok stated that it was "to preserve what the government had achieved over the past two years and to prevent Sudan from falling into new international isolation," but as the situation worsened, he ultimately stepped down. Major foreign media reported that Hamdok had consistently demanded a complete transfer to civilian rule and democratization, including a democratic roadmap and a national charter agreement from the military, but these demands were not accepted, leading to his frustration.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.