UPDATE – Sudan opposition rejects deadline for handover of power

UPDATES WITH MTC STATEMENT, ADDS BACKGROUND</p> <p><br></p> <p>KHARTOUM (AA) – Sudanese opposition groups on Wednesday rejected a proposal by the African Union (AU) to give Sudan’s ruling Military Transitional Council (MTC) a three-month deadline for handing over power to a civilian authority. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Opposition leaders rejected the proposal at a joint press conference held in Khartoum by representatives of the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), the opposition National Consensus and Sudan Appeal parties, and a handful of civil-society organizations.</p> <p><br></p> <p>“We didn’t call on the army to assume power; we called on it to stand with the people,” opposition spokesman Omar al-Deqir told reporters. </p> <p><br></p> <p>On April 11, the Sudanese army announced the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir following months of popular demonstrations against his 30-year rule.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The MTC is now overseeing a two-year “transitional period” during which it has promised to hold presidential elections.</p> <p><br></p> <p>At a Tuesday AU summit in Cairo, participants proposed giving the MTC a three-month deadline for relinquishing power to a civilian administration. </p> <p><br></p> <p>“The summit in Cairo saw the AU’s earlier deadline for relinquishing power [to a civilian authority] extended from 15 days to three months,” Bassam Radi, a spokesman for Egypt’s presidency, said in a statement. </p> <p><br></p> <p>According to Radi, summit participants had agreed that 15 days was “insufficient” for the handover of power. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Egypt currently holds the AU’s rotating chairmanship.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The MTC, for its part, says it is “still holding talks” with Sudan’s Freedom and Change Alliance, which includes the SPA and a number of opposition parties.</p> <p><br></p> <p>In a statement, the military council said that it plans to resume talks with the opposition alliance at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday evening.