Sudan’s fragile peace under strain as JEM condemns cabinet dissolution

In a move that has stirred political tremors across Sudan’s already fragile transition,the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has sharply criticized the newly-appointed Prime Minister Kamal Idris’s decision to dissolve the national Cabinet,calling it a flagrant breach of the Juba Peace Agreement.

The dissolution,enacted just days ahead of Eid al-Adha,swept away all ministers—including those representing former rebel factions—replacing them with interim administrative figures. JEM,a signatory to the landmark 2020 peace accord,warned that the move erodes trust,disrupts power-sharing arrangements,and threatens internal cohesion at a precarious juncture in Sudan’s history.

Mutasim Ahmed Saleh,JEM’s political secretary,took to social media to voice his disapproval,highlighting that the complete dismantling of the government—including ministers appointed under the peace deal—violates Article 8.3 of the Juba Peace Agreement. This provision explicitly safeguards the retention of positions secured by peace parties,requiring replacements to be drawn exclusively from their ranks. Saleh underscored that the abrupt action not only disregards the legal framework of the agreement but also undermines the credibility of Sudan’s transitional commitments,particularly in the eyes of international guarantors and domestic stakeholders alike.

The Juba Agreement,forged with the promise of inclusivity and national reconciliation,is now teetering on the edge of irrelevance,as Idris’s unilateral measures pivot the transitional structure away from its original tripartite balance—comprising the military,peace signatories,and the Forces of Freedom and Change. With one leg of this fragile tripod now effectively sidelined,JEM fears the entire framework may collapse,imperilling not just the peace dividends won thus far but the very architecture of Sudan’s democratic path. As Idris readies consultations to form a new government post-Eid,observers await with bated breath,wary of further political erosion in a nation still navigating the aftershocks of revolution and civil strife.