South Sudan: Draft constitution sees light after boycotts by other parties
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May 3, 2011 (KAMPALA) – South Sudan’s draft constitutional review
passed a crucial step after six opposition parties walked out of the
meeting over the weekend in protest.
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Vice President of South Sudan, Riek Machar: "“Nineteen political
parties, agreed on the reviewed interim constitution" (AP)
Five opposition parties, including the Sudan People’s Liberation
Movement – Democratic Change (SPLM-DC), which is the main opposition
party in South Sudan, walked out of the constitutional endorsement
meeting chaired by President Salva Kiir Mayardit. The meeting, which
was supposed to end on 30 April, was delayed until 2 May, when the
remaining parties agreed on the constitutional text and passed it for
review by the council of ministers in Juba. The ministers will then
forward the legal document to South Sudan Legislative Assembly for
reading and final passage.
“Nineteen political parties, agreed on the reviewed interim
constitution of South Sudan on Monday,” Riek Machar is quoted by
UNMIS’s sponsored Miraya FM saying on 2 April.
South Sudan is due to declare independence from the north, having
voted to secede in a January 2011 referendum, provided for by the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005. Last month, a
constitutional committee formed by President Kiir, the chairman of
Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) that governs the south,
presented a final draft to the regional leader. President Kiir was to
go through the constitutional text and pass over to South Sudan
Legislative Assembly (SSLA).
Last week, President Kiir converged a meeting for all political
parties, which are more than 20, in Juba, to review and endorse the
draft before being forwarded to SSLA. The SPLM-DC has only six MPs in
the SPLM dominated assembly.
Opposition parties claim that the procedures for the drafted
constitution violated a communiqué that called for equal
representation during the constitutional review. It was also decided
that chairpersons of all parties be presented during the drafting of
the constitution which never happened, according the opposition
leaders.
The opposition parties which worked out of the constitutional
endorsement on 30 April include SPLM—DC, United Democratic Front
(UDF), South Sudan Democratic Alliance (SSDA), United South Sudan
Party (USSP) and South Sudan Democratic Front (SSDF).
(ST)
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