Sudan is to form a new government of national accord next week.

The Sudan Tribune reported on Thursday that Sudanese Presidential Assistant Ibrahim Hamid told a press conference in Khartoum that the number of ministries in the upcoming government would not exceed 31 and that the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) would give up a number of ministries to the political parties participating in the national dialogue.

Hamid added that the current presidency, parliamentary speaker and states’ governors wouldn’t be affected by the formation of the new government and denied that additional presidential advisor posts would be created.

“Consultations to form the government of national concord have been concluded and only two parties haven’t handed over their list of final candidates. The government will most likely be announced next week. The Popular Congress Party (PCP) hasn’t submitted the list of its candidates yet but it will participate in the government,” he said on Wednesday.

The presidential aide asserted that the regional and international community supported these efforts at national dialogue, adding that there was no moral justification for taking up arms.

Seeking to reassure those who were reluctant to join the dialogue on the basis that their participation would be ineffectual, Hamid stated a strong state depended on political and security stability.

He added that all relevant political players and groups were convinced that the only true way to achieve democratic transformation was through national dialogue and that those who opposed being part of this transformation wouldn’t be forced to do so but had to oppose the process through peaceful means.

President Omar Al Bashir began a national dialogue at the beginning of 2014 as a way to resolve Sudan’s armed conflict, alleviate poverty and the economic crisis in addition to reforming the political process.

In October political parties that participated in the national dialogues signed the National Document which outlined a future constitution to be finalised by transitional institutions.

However, opposition groups boycotted the process following Khartoum’s refusal to agree to a humanitarian truce with armed opposition groups and to implement a number of confidence building measures.