Rhino: Agencies – Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is close to naming a new prime minister and tasking him with forming an independent national competencies government, in the context of which he summoned leaders of political blocs and forces to Port Sudan, the interim capital, to consult on the move.

Political sources revealed to Al Jazeera Net that al-Burhan held two meetings in Port Sudan on Wednesday and Thursday with political leaders he hurriedly summoned to Port Sudan from inside and outside the country.

They explained that Al-Burhan informed the political leaders of his intention to name a prime minister within two weeks and task him with forming an independent national competencies government with full powers to manage the country until a Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue conference is held to agree on the post-war phase and face internal challenges.

The sources, who requested anonymity, revealed that the list of candidates included six figures, most notably Finance Minister and leader of the Justice and Equality Movement Jibril Ibrahim, Secretary General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, former diplomat and professor of international law at the University of Khartoum, Kamel Idris, and Khartoum State Governor Ahmed Osman Hamza.

The nomination of the prime minister requires an amendment to the constitutional document, which stipulates that the FFC nominates the head of the government.