Bashir to appoint PM for 1st time since coup

KHARTOUM: Sudanese President Omar Bashir is to appoint a prime minister, reinstating a post abolished after he came to power in a 1989 coup, officials said Wednesday.

The delegation of certain powers to a prime minister would fall in line with reforms proposed by a national dialogue held between Bashir’s government and some opposition groups. Bashir himself had abolished the post of premier after he led a bloodless coup almost three decades ago against then premier Sadiq Al-Mahdi with the help of the late Hassan Al-Turabi.

But on Wednesday, a top aide to Bashir told the Sudanese Parliament that the president will now appoint a prime minister to head his government. “The president’s proposal forms part of changes to be made in the country’s constitution based on recommendations from the national dialogue,” said Al-Rashid Haroon.

A prime minister is expected to be appointed within the next two months, officials said. “This is a positive step because the prime minister will have some of Bashir’s powers,” Al-Noor Ahmed, editor of leading Sudanese daily Assayha, told AFP.