Sudanese authorities sought to gather a broader consultation base to finalize a roadmap to democracy, on Thursday (Jan. 12) amid anti-junta demonstrations.

According to the Associated Press, the signatories of the latest framework agreement met in the capital Khartoum.

The meeting spokesperson Khaled Omar outlined the key issues of the first of several planned workshops aimed at paving the way to a more inclusive peace deal.

“General workshops were held during the conference that discussed eight papers which were corruption and empowerment over the three decades, the political consequences of dismantling the National Congress regime, the experience of the committee for dismantling the June 30 regime,” Khaled said in a video seen on the Africanews online site.

He also detailed that other key issues discussed included “the legal framework that controls the dismantling process of the June 30 regime, the international standards and the principals that control the dismantling process, the African experience in dealing with corruption and asset recover.”

He said the main objective of the process is “to broaden the base of consultations between the various Sudanese actors at this stage so the final political agreement would represent not only the signing powers but also the widest base of the Sudanese people.”

At a news conference, Omar also vowed to reinstate a committee which was previously tasked with dismantling the legacy of Omar al-Bashir’s regime which ruled Sudan for almost three decades.

However, hundreds of protesters demonstrated at the same time, demanding the ouster of the military rulers who seized power in October 2021. They also rejected the framework agreement.

The junta and the main pro-democracy group struck a contested deal set to organize a gradual transfer of power to civilian leaders.