Written by Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa Eltahir

CAIRO, Reuters – Sudan’s military leaders have begun to recruit ex-officials from Omar al-Bashir to key positions in the bureaucracy. This is seen by critics as a signal that they want to consolidate control following a coup.

Analysts say that Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is a military officer who lacks a strong political base and resorts to an alliance with people he assisted in removing Bashir from power.

This suggests that Burhan seeks to consolidate the military’s takeover. Many in the international community have called for the return of civilian-military powers-sharing arrangements, which is supposed to allow elections to be held in 2023.

Burhan’s media advisor could not reach Burhan for comment. Senior government sources have denied the claim that recent nominees are “remnants” to Bashir’s regime. They said their nominations were made in accordance with regular bureaucratic procedures.

Publicly announced appointment of ex-Senior Bashir officials from the previous Bashir era include Huweda Al Kareem as justice ministry undersecretary, Ali Sadeq as foreign ministry undersecretary, and Mahmoud Alhouri, education ministry undersecretary.

Sadeq stated to Reuters he took his current position because of seniority.

He said, “I’m not associated with any previous regime.” “I am doing my job as a civil service worker,” he said to Reuters.

Houri and Kareem were not available for comment.

In senior posts in media and state banks as well as the region government of Khartoum and other states, officials have been replaced.

Criticisms claim that Burhan will not only make it harder for people to oppose the takeover but also narrow the window of possibility of compromise by giving work to Bashir’s ex-appointees.

Public servants who were appointed by the civil Forces of Freedom and Change coalition, which was in power before the coup, are now being fired or reassigned. This is according to government workers and groups. The appointment of technocrats who are not political was seen by many Sudanese as one of few tangible benefits of the transition.

ARRESTS

According to teachers union, many people were taken into custody at the sit-in against handovers of military appointees at Khartoum’s education ministry building.

Khartoum State officials of health reaffirmed their rejections and the appointment, Wednesday. They stated that they had “submitted” to the military and betrayed their oath.

The coup also targeted a taskforce that was set up to remove Bashir’s regime by seizing assets, and expelled supporters from government jobs. A number of senior members of the Taskforce were taken into custody, and Burhan declared late Tuesday that a committee will be formed to evaluate its performance.

The influx of strategic analysts defending the coup has been seen on TV stations controlled by Gulf Arab States. Some of these are known to be supporters Bashir’s dissolved National Congress Party.

Alarmed are civilian groups bent on reverse the coup.

The political bureau of Sudan’s Umma Party issued a statement calling for peaceful resistance against the takingover. It stated that it rejects “all decisions made by the coup leader concerning the dismissal civil servant leaders who are not loyal to the coup, and their replacement with cadres from the defeated National Congress”.

Sudanese Journalists Network alleged that the military used NCP members to expel public servants who were appointed by the transitional government following Bashir’s departure, as well as to punish trade union leaders and those involved in a civil disobedience movement against the coup.

Even though it had been disbanded, the NCP was still issuing statements just before the coup.

PROTEST MOVEMENT

After months of protests, the military overthrew Bashir and ended a 2019 agreement for civil-military power sharing. The coup succeeded in stopping that deal. Burhan headed a joint council of ruling but had intended to transfer leadership to civilians ahead of the 2023 election.

Burhan claimed he would appoint a government made up of technocrats after putting Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other top civilians under house arrest. You cannot get politicians released and power sharing restored by the United Nations.

Magdi El Giizouli, a Sudanese analyst, stated that Burhan used this time to put people who are loyal to both the military and state into jobs that control vital infrastructure, banking, trade and banks.

He stated that he was doing the same thing every ruler of a government does: removing bureaucracy from government and finding loyal employees. He’s creating de facto situations ahead of the cabinet.

Burhan stated that he disbanded transitional bodies in order to stop squabbling factions of political opponents from destabilizing the country. He claims he supports democratic transition, and that 2023 will see elections.

The military must resign from the protest movement which mobilised against Bashir in advance of the Oct. 25 coup.

Although a technical problem with internet access prevented civil disobedience campaigns from being conducted on Sunday and Monday respectively, thousands turned out to protest the military. Another “march for millions” is planned for November 13.

Burhan is also facing an economic crisis, which triggered Bashir’s revolt and continues after Bashir’s overthrow. The West had started to send aid to Sudan to support its transition. A resolution calling for sanctions on coup leaders was introduced in Congress.

A lasting alliance between Burhan, former regime factions and Burhan may be complicated due to their animosity over Burhan’s role as a top army commander in Bashir’s fall in 2019.

Burhan, as is neighbor Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, are close to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. A diplomatic source stated that such regional power, who have tried hard to reduce the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence, might object to any coalition of Burhan and Bashirs Islamist allies.

(Additional writing and reporting by Aidan Lewis, Editing by Peter Graff