Sudan: Prime Minister Hamdok resigns in a televised address

Sudan: Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok has resigned. He announced his resignation in a televised address a few hours ago.

Abdullah Hamdok took office in 2019 after long-time ruler Omar Al Bashir was removed due to a massive uprising. He was tasked with steering the country towards the next election, due to take place in 2023.

But during his tenure, he remained at loggerheads with the Sudanese military. At the end of October, he was put under house arrest after Sudanese military chief Abdul Fattah Al Burhan staged a coup. But in November he was reinstated after signing an agreement with the military chief.

Since Burhan’s coup attempt, protests have been going on across Sudan especially in the capital Khartoum. Protesters want a fully independent civilian government. They want no role of the Sudanese military in politics. The Sudanese army has been known to be yielding significant influence in politics. But despite huge ongoing protests, the Sudanese army is not willing to relinquish its tight control of power.

After protesters rejected Hamdok-Burhan agreement, the pressure was building upon Hamdok as he had lost the support of street protesters.

In his final address, Hamdok said that he tried his best to stop the country from sliding towards political disaster. He said that Sudan’s survival was under threat.