Nabil Adib: Dialogue Preparation Committee Puts Forward Four Non-Negotiable National Principles
Khartoum – Sudanhorizon
Nabil Adib, a member of the Sudanese-Sudanese Dialogue Preparation Committee, said the committee had presented participants with a paper outlining supreme national principles, along with another paper addressing the regulations governing the dialogue. He stressed that the committee’s proposals constitute a contribution rather than an imposition on the participants, and that the final decision regarding them rests with the participants themselves.
Speaking at a press conference held at the committee’s headquarters in Khartoum on Tuesday, Adib explained that the national principles paper consists of four main pillars: the unity of Sudan, decentralized governance, an inclusive Sudanese identity, and a democratic system.
He said the first principle affirms that Sudan must remain a single state, and that any proposal to divide the country or establish more than one state within Sudan is unacceptable. Political and societal disputes, he said, must be managed within a single Sudanese state.
He added that the second principle concerns decentralized governance, which the committee considers one of the necessary options for addressing Sudan’s governance crises. He explained that, in his assessment, previous experiences with centralized rule had been associated with the accumulation of conflicts, rebellions, and wars, while the committee has left it to the participants to determine the level and form of decentralization.
Regarding identity, Adib said the Sudanese identity should be an inclusive identity encompassing the various identities existing in the country, while rejecting the domination or exclusion of any identity and allowing all components to coexist and recognize one another.
He affirmed that the fourth principle is a democratic system, which he described as the framework through which Sudan’s diversity can be managed. He noted that the committee had not addressed the details of the form of the democratic system, but had affirmed that political authority must derive its legitimacy from the will of the people through genuine elections.
Adib pointed out that this principle requires reforms to the laws governing the electoral process so that elections do not become a means of producing authoritarian regimes or predetermined results. He stressed that the Sudanese people must be the ones to decide who governs them.
Regarding the dialogue regulations, he explained that the committee had proposed consensus as the basis for decision-making. If consensus proves impossible, a qualified majority with a high threshold, potentially reaching 90%, could be used, while leaving the final details to the participants to approve and develop.
Adib revealed that the committee had begun contacting societal, political, and community-based groups. He explained that previous contacts had focused more heavily on societal components, while the committee was preparing to move to the stage of extending invitations to political groups.
He said the invitations would include political blocs and parties that are not part of any blocs, stressing that the committee would invite all political blocs, including parties that had announced their opposition to the dialogue. He emphasized that the positions of the various parties would not be determined based on what is published in the media, but through direct communication with them.
He noted that the committee would consult political groups on the date and location of the dialogue inside Sudan, as determining the venue requires taking the participants’ views into account, alongside reaching agreement on the dialogue’s agenda and schedule before it begins.
Adib confirmed that contacts were underway with a number of regional and international parties, explaining that the international community’s role at this stage is to facilitate and support the dialogue, rather than participate in drafting its decisions or impose its agenda on the participants.
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