Is Sudan’s transition to democracy doomed?

On Tuesday, January 11 at 19:30GMT:
Two more demonstrators are dead following a massive protest in Sudan on Sunday. Security forces fired tear gas as thousands marched from Omdurman to Bahri, two neighbouring cities of the capital Khartoum, in defiance of the country’s military rulers.

The deaths bring the number of people killed in anti-coup protests to 62, according to the pro-democracy Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, who also accused security forces of attacking staff at medical facilities that have been treating wounded demonstrators.

Sudan had been led by a joint military and civilian government since a massive uprising in 2019 overthrew longtime President Omar al-Bashir. The agreement was supposed to stay in place until democratic elections in July 2023.

But, after weeks of protests, civilian leader and interim prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, was toppled in a military coup last October. He was later reinstated before stepping down again, citing frustration at a deadlock over moving towards elections.

Now several countries including Norway, the United States and the UK are threatening to withhold aid unless a broad range of civilians is involved in finding Hamdok’s replacement.

In this episode of The Stream, we discuss the latest headlines out of Sudan and ask whether the transition to democracy is doomed.

In this episode of The Stream, we are joined by:
Nisreen Elsaim, @NisreenElsaim
Activist

Muzan Alneel, @MuzanAlneel
Activist

Kholood Khair, @KholoodKhair
Managing Partner, Insight Strategy Partners