AP Interview: Sudan ruling general won't run in elections

NEW YORK (AP) — Sudan’s ruling military general, who mounted a coup nearly a year ago, said he will not run in future elections for a civilian-led government, but offered no timeline on when a vote might happen in order for him to relinquish power.

Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan spoke with The Associated Press on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday. It marked nearly one year after he mounted a coup that upended the Arabic-speaking African nation’s short-lived transition to democracy after three decades of repressive rule by strongman Omar al-Bashir.

Asked if he would consider running in future elections, Burhan replied: “I don’t think so.” When pressed further, he said: “I do not have a desire to put myself forward (as a candidate) nor do I want to continue in this work.”

Underpinning last year’s coup were tensions that had been building between supporters of military rule and those who support civilian rule — with both sides frustrated by the country’s worsening economic conditions.

Sudan has been mired in political turmoil for over three years. Its economy has teetered and inflation was expected to hit a staggering 245% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Since the coup last October, pro-democracy protesters have marched through the streets demanding the generals hand over power to civilians. They’ve denounced Burhan’s takeover, which occurred when the military dissolved the transitional government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok as well as the Sovereign Council, a power-sharing body of military officers and civilians that had been ruling Sudan since late 2019.

Troops have opened fire at protesters, killing some of the marchers and detaining hundreds. While no police or security forces have been convicted in the deaths, Burhan...