“There are signs of being close to reaching consensus with the participation of political and social forces and peace partners,” said the Head of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, at a peace forum in Ethiopia on Saturday.

“This guarantees the stability of the transitional period and the formation of a civilian government to run the country, create the atmosphere and take the necessary measures to hold free and fair elections at the end of the transitional period,” he added.

The army chief renewed his commitment of withdrawing the military from politics in Sudan.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021 when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency, a move decried by political forces as a “military coup.”