Sudanese parliament speaker rejects presidency directive to allow Southern MPs
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April 3, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM)
revealed on Sunday that the presidency issued a decree instructing
that Southern members of parliament should be allowed to join the new
legislative session despite opposition by the speaker.
JPEG - 39.7 kb
Sudanese Parliament speaker Ahmed Ibrahim al-Tahir (AFP)
The federal cabinet affairs minister Luka Byong, who is also an SPLM
figure, said that speaker of the national assembly Ahmed Ibrahim
Al-Tahir is still resisting any attempt to allow Southern MPs back.
However he added that the decision by the presidency may not have
reached the parliament leadership yet.
Last February Al-Tahir stressed that starting in April Southern seats
in parliament will no longer exist in line with the outcome of the
South Sudan referendum which paved the way for the country’s split
officially in July.
He cited article 118 of the constitution for his decision interpreting
it as saying that Southern MP’s have no representation authority
because the constituencies they won in are now in the south.
But Byong said that this cannot be read in isolation from article 226
which allows Southern officials in the government to stay until the
end of the interim period in July.
"I understand [Al-Tahir’s] interpretation of Article 118 but the
political reading forces the creation of good grounds between the
parties to avoid the existence of bitterness," he said.
"We expected celebrations to take place and a farewell to the
Southerners in the executive and legislative branch on the eighth of
July and finding a link of understanding between the political
executive and the legislature," he added.
The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in control of the North has
stated in the past that all Southerners in the central government,
military and civil service will be dismissed once results are
certified.
(ST)
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