A career diplomat who once rejected a ministerial job from former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir is being touted as the country’s next prime minister when a new cabinet is formed following last week’s power-sharing deal.
Since Sudan’s new military rulers and leaders of the protest movement reached a power-sharing deal last week, the salient questions of governance have been revolving around the composition of the next cabinet and who will head it.
The intervening few days could provide answers to those questions as a cabinet consisting of both military and civilians is expected to the installed.
Sudan has been without a government months after the army overthrew former president, Omar al-Bashir and created a military transitional council to lead the country.
The leaders of the protest movement will elect a prime minister and form the cabinet with a full mandate to govern the country and return it to political normalcy.
“We have determined our candidates for the position of prime minister and council of Severgan” Mohamd Almostafa, a member of the Freedom and Change Declaration (FCD) said on air on Thursday.
“We will start by naming the prime minister after signing the agreement” he added.
FCD sources have told the African Press Agency, UN careerist Dr. Abdalla Hamdok, is being touted as one of the strongest favourites to be named prime minister.
Dr. Hamdok’s name had featured on the list of candidates for the position of Finance minister under Bashir.
The former president had considered enlisting his help as Sudan grappled with an economic crisis which eventually triggered a mass protest movement that ousted Bashir in April.
Homdok had rejected the former military strongman’s bid to appoint him into his cabinet.
Hamdok has had a long and illustrious career at the UN and other international organisations in Africa.
These stints had spanned 30 years.
In the early years of his career, he worked at the International Labour Organisation as Chief Technical Advisor in Zimbabwe from (1995-1997).
He later joined the African Development Bank as Principal Policy Economist until 2001.
He also involved in activities related to public sector reforms, governance, regional integration and resource management.
In November,2016, Hamdok was appointed as acting Executive Secretary at the United Nations Economic Commission for African (UNECA) by then Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
The most salient candidate for the OM role in Sudan is the holder of a Ph.D and MA in Economics from the School of Economic Studies, University of Manchester, UK and a BSc (honours from the University of Khartoum, Sudan.
AR/as/APA