Transitional Sovereignty Council

Sudan had multi-member Sovereignty Councils holding the role of head of state of Sudan several times during the twentieth century. Following more than half a year of sustained civil disobedience and a shift of the presidency from Omar al-Bashir to the Transitional Military Council (TMC) in April 2019 by a coup d'état, the TMC and the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance (FFC) made a July 2019 Political Agreement and completed it by the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration. Articles 9.(a) and 10.(a) of the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration both transfer the role of head of state to the Sovereignty Council. ==Structure and membership==

Article 10.(b) of the Draft Constitutional Declaration defines the Sovereignty Council to consist of five civilians chosen by the FFC, five military chosen by the TMC, and a civilian "selected by agreement" between the FFC and TMC. Hemedti has been the deputy chairman of the Sovereignty Council in the past. The new members are Sudanese Revolutionary Front leader El Hadi Idris Yahya, Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North leader Malik Agar, and Sudan Liberation Movement for Justice-Karbino leader El Tahrir Abubakr Hajar. List of members 2019–2021 The council had fourteen members as follows: • Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (president) • Hemedti (deputy-chair) • Yasser al-Atta • Shams al-Din Khabbashi • Ibrahim Jabir Karim • Aisha Musa el-Said (Resigned on 12 May 2021) • Siddiq Tawer • Mohamed al-Faki • Hassan Sheikh Idris • Mohammed Hassan al-Ta'ishi • Raja Nicola • El Hadi Idris Yahya (From 7 March 2021) • Malik Agar (From 7 March 2021 • Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (president) • Hemedti (deputy-chair; Removed on 19 May 2023) • Malik Agar (elevated to deputy-chair in 2023) • Shams al-Din Khabbashi • Yasser al-Atta • Ibrahim Jabir Karim • El Hadi Idris Yahya (Removed on 3 November 2023) • El Tahrir Abubakr Hajar (Removed on 20 November 2023) • Raja Nicola (Removed on 5 July 2022) • Aboulgasim Mohamed Burtum (Removed on 5 July 2022) • Salah al-Din Adam Tur (From 17 July 2024) • Abdullah Yahya Ahmed Hussein (From 20 August 2024) • Nawara Abu Muhammad Muhammad Taher (From 31 May 2025 Women's participation The Sovereignty Council was mostly male, with two of the eleven members being female: Aisha Musa el-Said and Raja Nicola. The Sudanese Women's Union argued that women had played as significant a role as men in the political changes of 2019 and that Sudanese women "claim an equal share of 50-50 with men at all levels, measured by qualifications and capabilities". Ineligibility in 2022 Under Article 19 of the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration, the eleven members of the Sovereignty Council of the transitional period were forbidden (along with ministers and other senior transition leaders) from running in the 2022 Sudanese general election scheduled to end the transitional period. ==Powers==

Article 11.(a) lists 17 political powers held by the Sovereignty Council, including the appointment of the Prime Minister, confirmation of leaders of certain state bodies, the right to declare war or a state of emergency, and signing and ratifying national and international agreements. Separation of powers On 24 October, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) claimed that civilian members of the Sovereignty Council violated the constitutional constraints on their power by appearing to coordinate with Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and override the Ministry of Health's role in managing vector control against the spread of dengue fever and chikungunya. The SPA stated, "the campaign appeared to be the scene of direct interaction of the [RSF] with the health situation in the concerned states, in the absence of health departments at the federal or state level. ... [The] whole issue of health is not the prerogative of the Sovereign Council." Sudan Tribune expressed concern that the RSF and its leader Hemedti were trying to improve the RSF's image, damaged by its carrying out of crimes against humanity in the War in Darfur and human rights violations during the 3 June 2019 Khartoum massacre. ==Decision-making==

Under Article 11.(c) of the Draft Constitutional Declaration, the Sovereignty Council makes decisions either by consensus, or when consensus is not possible, by a two-thirds majority (eight members). ==Actions==

The Council announced a state of emergency in Port Sudan during tribal clashes which resulted in the death of 16 people on 26 August 2019. In November 2019, Abdalla Hamdok's government repealed all laws restricting women's freedom of dress, movement, association, work and study. On 22 April 2020, the transitional government issued an amendment to its criminal legislation which declares that anyone who performs female genital mutilation either in a medical establishment or elsewhere will be punished by three years' imprisonment and a fine. ==Dissolution==

On 25 October 2021, in the 2021 Sudan coup d'état, Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved the Council and removed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok from office. He re-formed the TSC with new membership on November 11, 2021. ==See also==