The political programme

Introduction

Proceeding from our belief that Sudan is one homeland for a diverse people, and that its accumulated crises cannot be resolved by changing governments alone but by rebuilding the state, its institutions and its social contract on new foundations; recognising that war, division, marginalisation and weak institutions have weakened the Sudanese state and burdened the citizen; and believing that lasting peace is achieved only through justice, that national unity holds only through equal citizenship, and that development cannot be sustained without a state of strong institutions;

the National Sovereignty Front puts forward a national political project aimed at building a new Sudan — democratic, united, just, secure, productive, and able to manage its diversity and serve the interests of its citizens.

Our vision rests on three unifying principles: justice is the basis of stability, unity is the basis of the nation's strength, and construction is the basis of the future.

The party's identity

Name: the National Sovereignty Front.
Character: a civil, national, democratic political party.
Slogan: Justice – Unity – Construction.
Frame of reference: the constitution, the law, the will of the people and the supreme national interest.
Strategic objective: to build a modern, sovereign Sudanese state founded on equal citizenship, the rule of law, democracy, decentralisation, institutions and balanced development.

Founding principles

The National Sovereignty Front is committed to the following principles:

National sovereignty: Sudan is a fully sovereign state, and its national decisions must issue from the will of its people and its constitutional institutions, free of dictates, dependency and alignments that conflict with the national interest.
Equal citizenship: citizens are equal in rights and duties, and no discrimination between them is permissible on grounds of race, tribe, region, culture, language, gender, belief or political affiliation.
National unity: national unity is a supreme political and social value, founded on recognising Sudan's diversity, protecting it, and turning it from a source of conflict into a source of strength.
Justice: justice is a right of victims and a means of building peace, and it comprises legal justice, economic justice and transitional justice.
Social justice: every citizen has a fair share of the country's wealth; support and basic services must reach every individual; work, education and health must be available to all on equal terms; and the nation's wealth must raise the standard of living for everyone without exception.
Democracy: the people are the source of legitimacy, and the rotation of power is an inherent right, exercised through democratic means and free and fair elections.
The rule of law: no one is above the law, including officials, members of the regular forces and political leaders.
Public freedoms: the party protects freedom of opinion and expression, of the press, of association and of peaceful assembly, within the framework of the constitution and the law.
Rejection of political violence: the Front rejects the use of violence as a means of reaching or holding power, and holds that political disagreement is to be managed through dialogue, institutions and democratic means.
Balanced development: the state is committed to reducing developmental disparities between regions and areas, and to directing resources according to fair and transparent priorities.
Competence and professionalism: state institutions rest on competence, integrity and professionalism, not on patronage or on party, tribal or regional loyalty.
Decentralisation: the federal government is responsible for sovereign matters such as defence, foreign policy, the currency, nationality and national security, while states, regions and localities are granted broad powers over legislation, education, health, local development, services and urban planning, under a clear constitution that defines competences and resources.

The party's objectives

The National Sovereignty Front works towards the following objectives:

Ending the cycle of wars by addressing their roots and achieving sustainable peace.
Rebuilding the state and its institutions.
Establishing a stable democratic system.
Entrenching equal citizenship.
Achieving transitional justice and national reconciliation.
Reforming state institutions and the civil service.
Building professional national military and security institutions.
Combating corruption and patronage.
Achieving balanced economic and social development.
Rebuilding the areas damaged by the war.
Enabling young people and women to take part in public life.
Protecting national resources and managing them in the people's interest.
Strengthening Sudan's regional and international standing.
Building a new Sudanese social contract that commands popular consensus.
Building a strong civil society.
Education that is free and of good quality.

The party's vision for the system of government

The National Sovereignty Front adopts a civil, democratic, constitutional system of government based on the separation of, and balance between, the branches of power.

The legislature: a parliament elected in free and fair elections, representing citizens and regions, responsible for:
- Legislation.
- Oversight of the government.
- Approving the public budget.
- Holding officials to account.
- Protecting constitutional rights and freedoms.
The executive: a civilian government answerable to parliament and to the people, resting on competence, professionalism and transparency. The head of state and the head of government are chosen under a clear constitutional system, decided by the people through a consensual constitutional process.
The judiciary: a fully independent judiciary that guarantees the rule of law and protects rights and freedoms, subject to no political or executive interference.
Decentralised government: the Front adopts a decentralised system granting regions and localities real powers to manage their own affairs, while guaranteeing the unity of the state and fairness in the distribution of resources.

The project to rebuild the state

The Front holds that Sudan needs a founding project to rebuild the state, not merely partial reforms. The project comprises:

Dismantling the structure of the Ingaz regime inside the state.
Reforming the civil service.
Restructuring government institutions.
Building a transparent financial and administrative system.
Developing the justice system.
Reforming education — its curricula and its environment — with a focus on education for development.
Compulsory, free public education.
Reforming the security and military institutions.
Establishing independent oversight bodies.
Combating corruption and recovering public funds.
Developing local administration.
Adopting competence criteria for public appointments.
Digitising government services progressively.
Strengthening the independence of constitutional institutions.

The party's vision for the armed forces and the regular services

The National Sovereignty Front believes that a professional, unified national military institution is a necessity for the protection of the state, while affirming at the same time that the armed forces and the regular services must be national institutions and not party instruments. The Front adopts the following principles:

A unified national army.
Professionalism of the armed forces.
Subordination of the military institution to elected civilian constitutional authority.
A ban on party activity inside military and security institutions.
Unification of all forces, regular and irregular, under clear constitutional and legal arrangements.
Gradual and orderly reform of the security and military sector.
Respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.
Building a military doctrine founded on protecting the homeland, the constitution and the people.
Subjecting military budgets to appropriate constitutional and legal oversight.
No use of the army in political competition.
Prohibiting members of the armed forces from taking part in any economic or commercial activity, or from running economic institutions and companies, so that the military institution is devoted to its core task of protecting the homeland and the constitution, and so that military activity does not become entangled with economic or political activity.

The Front holds that the state alone has the right to organise and use legitimate force, in accordance with the constitution and the law.

The party's vision for peace

For the Front, peace is not merely a ceasefire but a comprehensive national process that addresses the roots of the crisis. The peace strategy rests on designating the Rapid Support Forces a terrorist organisation and criminalising dealings with it and with its political fronts, and it urges the international community and human-rights organisations to continue their efforts and to press for that designation:

Phase one: ending the war

Repelling and defeating foreign aggression.
Protecting civilians.
Opening humanitarian corridors.
Releasing prisoners and detainees in accordance with the agreements and the law.
Providing a safe environment for the voluntary return of the displaced and of refugees.

Phase two: the political process

Launching an inclusive Sudanese dialogue founded not on power-sharing quotas but on founding the state and rebuilding its institutions.

Phase three: justice and reconciliation

Establishing national mechanisms for transitional justice, accountability, reparation, truth-telling and community reconciliation.

Phase four: reconstruction

Directing national resources and international support to rebuilding the areas destroyed by the war, giving priority to the citizens who were harmed.
Providing the state with legal, political and organisational support to pursue international litigation, leading to the international compensation that the states implicated in the war on Sudan should pay, and ensuring that Sudanese citizens are compensated materially and directly.

The economic programme

The National Sovereignty Front adopts a productive national economy that combines a disciplined market economy with social justice, with an active role for the state in regulation, in strategic investment and in the protection of vulnerable groups.

Priorities of the economic programme:

Agriculture

Modernising the agricultural sector.
Developing irrigation schemes.
Supporting smallholder farmers.
Providing agricultural finance.
Developing agriculture-linked industries.
Achieving food security.

Livestock

Developing animal production.
Improving breeds.
Developing veterinary services.
Establishing meat, dairy and leather industries.

Mining and natural resources

Managing natural resources transparently.
Preventing smuggling.
Ensuring their revenues are directed to national and local development.

Industry

Reviving the industrial sector.
Encouraging manufacturing, petrochemical and allied industries.
Making use of local resources rather than exporting raw materials alone.

Investment

Creating a stable legal environment that attracts investment.
Protecting investors.
Preventing monopoly and the exploitation of influence.
Encouraging investment in artificial intelligence.

Employment

Making the creation of jobs for young people a national priority.
Linking education and training to the needs of the labour market.

Proceeding from our belief that the citizen is the centre of development, particular attention must be paid to retaining Sudanese expertise and skills and to limiting the brain drain. Policies and incentives should also be put in place to attract Sudanese professionals abroad, to encourage them to return and take part in public life, and to draw on their academic and professional experience in rebuilding the state and contributing to the country's renaissance.

Public finance

Reforming the tax system.
Broadening the revenue base, non-tax revenue in particular.
Combating evasion and corruption.
Controlling public spending.
Developing social protection programmes and the post-retirement pension system.
Publishing basic financial information transparently.
Combating the counterfeiting of the currency and trafficking in it.

Reconstruction

Establishing a national programme to rebuild infrastructure, public facilities and the areas damaged by the war.

The Front regards the citizen as the centre of development, and is therefore committed to building a state that provides a minimum of basic services to all citizens. The priorities are:

Education that is free, or affordable within national means.
Developing technical and vocational education.
Improving health services.
Supporting the groups most harmed by the war.
Protecting children.
Empowering women.
Providing real opportunities for young people.
Developing social protection networks.

Young people and women

The Front believes that Sudan's future cannot be built without the genuine participation of young people and women, and is therefore committed to:

Representing and empowering young people and women in the party's institutions.
Supporting their participation in state institutions.
Providing political and leadership training programmes.
Supporting entrepreneurship and small enterprises.
Combating discrimination and violence against women.
Investing in the academic and professional capacities of young people.

Foreign policy

The Front's foreign policy rests on:

Independence of national decision-making.
Respect for the sovereignty of states.
Non-interference in the internal affairs of other states.
Cooperation with neighbouring countries.
Strengthening African and Arab relations.
Developing partnerships with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye.
Cooperation with the international community on the basis of shared interests.
Protecting Sudanese national security.
Putting foreign relations to work for development, peace and investment.
Safeguarding Sudan's interests in its regional and international files.

Combating corruption

The Front regards corruption as one of the gravest threats to the state, and calls for:

Establishing independent anti-corruption bodies.
Protecting whistleblowers and witnesses.
Strengthening transparency in government contracts.
Declaration of assets by senior officials, as provided by law.
Criminalising the exploitation of influence.
Recovering looted public funds.
Digitising government transactions to reduce administrative corruption.

The Front's organisational structure

The organisational structure of the National Sovereignty Front rests on internal democracy, transparency and the rotation of responsibilities.

The general conference

The party's highest authority, responsible for:

Adopting the political programme.
Electing the senior leadership.
Adopting the party's statute.
Reviewing the party's performance.
Setting strategic direction.

The party's national council

An intermediate leadership body between the general conference and the executive leadership, responsible for follow-up and political oversight.

The party president

Represents the party politically, and acts within powers defined by the statute.

The political bureau

Sets general policy and follows up the implementation of the general conference's decisions.

The general secretariat

Handles the executive and organisational administration of the party.

Specialised secretariats

These may include:

The secretariat for organisation.
The secretariat for political affairs.
The secretariat for media and communication.
The secretariat for youth.
The secretariat for women.
The secretariat for economic affairs.
The secretariat for peace and reconciliation.
The secretariat for foreign relations.
The secretariat for studies and policy.
The secretariat for legal affairs.
The secretariat for civil society.
The secretariat for local administration.

Regional and local structures

The party organises itself at these levels:

Centre → region/state → locality → organisational unit → membership.

Organisational units hold powers appropriate to the nature of the local level, while abiding by the party's charter and statute.

Democracy inside the party

The Front is committed to democracy as an internal practice and not merely as a political slogan, including:

Electing leaders periodically.
Fixed terms for positions of responsibility.
Rotation of posts.
Financial transparency.
The member's right to express an opinion.
Clear mechanisms for accountability and discipline.
Preventing the formation of closed centres of influence.
Fair representation of the regions and of society's component groups.

Membership

Membership of the National Sovereignty Front is open to every Sudanese who believes in the party's principles and abides by its statute, without discrimination. Membership rests on:

Commitment – discipline – integrity – national service – respect for the law.

The party may not be used to pursue personal, tribal or regional interests, or illegitimate financial ones.

The Front's vision for the transitional period

The Front supports an orderly political transition leading to a civil democratic state, based on:

Ending the war in favour of a state of institutions.
Protecting civilians.
Forming transitional institutions with consensual legitimacy.
Rebuilding the institutions of the state.
Achieving transitional justice.
Preparing a permanent constitution.
Conducting a population census when circumstances allow.
Rebuilding the electoral register.
Holding free and fair elections.
Handing power to an elected government.

The Front rejects any turning of the transitional period into a means of excluding the people, or of extending transitional rule without end.

The National Sovereignty Front puts forward a new Sudanese social contract, built on a clear equation:

Equal citizenship + a strong state + justice + balanced development + democracy = sustainable stability.

The new social contract aims to move beyond the historic conflicts over power, wealth and identity, and to build a state in which citizens feel that its institutions represent them, protect their rights and serve their interests.

National commitment

The National Sovereignty Front declares that its ultimate aim is not to reach power for its own sake, but to use power — if the people grant it their trust — to build a strong and just state.

The Front is committed to power being a means of serving the citizen, to the law standing above everyone, to the institutions of the state belonging to the people, and to the army and the regular forces protecting the homeland rather than being a party to political conflict.

Conclusion

The Sudan we want is not a Sudan in which one group prevails over another, or one region over another, or one party over another; it is a Sudan in which the citizen, the state, the law and peace prevail.

We want a Sudan united in its homeland, diverse in its cultures, just in its institutions, democratic in its governance, productive in its economy, strong in its sovereignty, and at peace with its neighbourhood and with the world.

To that end, the National Sovereignty Front puts forward its national project under the slogan:

Justice – Unity – Construction

Justice to build trust, unity to protect the homeland, and construction to make the future.