Limit president’s emergency powers, S. Sudan opposition demand
* Article
* Comments (8)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
*
*
*
*
By Julius N. Uma
May 12, 2011 (JUBA) - The state of emergency powers given to the
president of the Republic of South Sudan, contained in the draft
transitional constitution are too extensive and should be limited, 18
opposition parties say in a joint statement.
JPEG - 19.1 kb
A Southern Sudanese man holds the flag of the Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Juba (file/AFP)
"The State of Emergency Powers given to the President of the Republic
of South Sudan that are contained in the draft are extensive and
should be limited, particularly regarding the provisions that
suspended the Bill of Rights,” partly says the 2 May statement.
According to section 187 (1) of the constitution draft, “The
president, may upon the occurrence of an imminent danger, whether it
is war, invasion, blockade, natural disaster or epidemics, as may
threaten the country, or any part thereof or the safety or economy of
the same, declare a state of emergency in the country, or in any part
thereof, in accordance with this Constitution and the law.”
In a state of emergency, it stipulates, the president may, by law or
orders, take any measures that shall not derogate from the provisions
of constitution except as provided herein, which includes the powers
to suspend part of the bill of rights as well as dissolve the national
executive, among others.
Also proposed by the opposition, included within the draft document,
are issues such as power sharing and formation of a broad based
government, duration of the transition period, national security
creation and adoption of English as the official working language.
On national security, however, the opposition rejected the proposal in
the draft constitution to create a “Ministry of National Security”,
instead preferring it to fall directly under the president.
Meanwhile the status of Abyei, according to the opposition, can only
be resolved through a self-determination referendum as provided for in
the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) or through political
resolutions in the form of the ongoing post referendum negotiations.
The 2 May statement says the draft transitional constitution, already
before South Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA), should have included
provisions for the creation of a constitutional court as an
independent institution in the country.
“The draft should establish the Constitutional Court as a separate and
independent institution, in order to guarantee the interpretations of
constitutional matters to the other branches of government,” it says.
The joint statement came just days after five opposition parties
walked out of a constitutional endorsement meeting held by South Sudan
President, Salva Kirr, in Juba - the regional capital.
The opposition parties which walked out included the United Democratic
Front (UDF), Sudan People’s Liberation Movement for Democratic Change
(SPLM-DC), South Sudan Democratic Alliance (SSDA), United South Sudan
Party (USSP) and South Sudan Democratic Front (SSDF)
Kiir, anonymous sources told Sudan Tribune, lost his temper and said
uninterested opposition members were “free to walk out” of the
meeting, specifically convened to ensure equal participation of all
southern parties in the adoption of the country’s new constitution.
South Sudan is due to become independent after its population
overwhelmingly voted for separation during the January
self-determination referendum. The vote was a key part of Sudan’s 2005
CPA, which ended decades of war between north and south.
(ST)
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD
info" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected].
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
