Sudan: President al-Bashir unveils new cabinet following vice president’s resignation

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir. PHOTO/Gregorio Borgia/AP

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has unveiled a partially new cabinet, in a move prompted by the resignation of Vice President Ali Osman Taha.

The changes, announced on Sunday, come less than a week after leading former ally Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani said he had launched a new “Reform” party relying on youth support. The party has since attracted thousands of supporters.

“Ali Osman will voluntarily step down”, as he did in 2005 following the signing of a peace agreement that ended 22 years of civil war, Bashir was quoted by the official SUNA news agency as saying.

Taha “is the spearhead and the leader of change in the formation of a new cabinet,” al-Bashir said without elaborating.

The president hinted in mid-November that a wide-ranging government shakeup was imminent. Critics of his administration have become increasingly vocal since the government slashed fuel subsidies in September, which subsequently lead to protests and demonstrations.

al-Bashir has talked of “reform”, and also hinted that he would be retiring from politics in 2015.

Out-going vice president Taha was considered the “first” of two vice-presidents in Bashir’s administration. Analysts last year said Taha was a possible successor to Bashir should he step down