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Sudanese transitional authorities approved a law on Thursday to dissolve the former ruling party and repealed a public order law used to regulate women's behaviour under ex-president Omar al-Bashir, the justice minister said.
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The two measures responded to key demands by a protest movement that helped overthrow Bashir in April.
Their implementation will be a crucial test of how far transitional authorities are willing or able to go to overturn nearly three decades of rule by Bashir, who took power in a 1989 coup and whose Islamist movement penetrated deep into Sudan's institutions.
The law to dissolve Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP) also allows for the party's assets to be seized, Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdelbari said. State TV described it as a measure to "dismantle" the former regime.
The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which spearheaded the protests against Bashir, welcomed the law.
"It is an important step on the path to building a democratic civilian state," the group said in a statement.
The law was passed during a marathon, 14-hour meeting of Sudan's sovereign council and cabinet. The meeting saw disputes over an article that bans people who took leading posts in the former regime from practicing politics, sources with knowledge of the proceedings told Reuters.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said on Twitter that the measure was not an act of revenge, but was rather aimed at preserving the "dignity of the Sudanese people".
The law passed to dismantle NCP and disempower it, did not result from a quest for vengeance but rather to preserve and restore the dignity of our people who have grown weary of the injustice under the hands of NCP who have looted & hindered the development of this great nation.
— Abdalla Hamdok (@SudanPMHamdok) November 28, 2019
Information Minister Faisal Mohamed Saleh said the delay in approving the law was caused by work to "improve" it. "By this law, we want to establish a new era," he said.
Celebration
In the capital Khartoum, some drivers hooted car horns in celebration after the late night announcement, while others exchanged slogans from the uprising on social media.
Hamdok's government was formed in September after a power-sharing deal between anti-Bashir groups and the Transitional Military Council that ruled the country Read More – Source
