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August 4, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The transformed national legislative
assembly of the newly born Republic of South Sudan has failed to
conduct its first sitting as senior lawmakers wrangle over who to lead
the new national house after the integration of MPs coming from
Khartoum.
JPEG - 15.6 kb
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir (2nd L) smiles at the end of Sunday
mass in Juba on January 16, 2011, one day after the historical
week-long independence referendum vote ended. (Getty)
On Monday President Salva Kiir Mayardit issued a number of
presidential decrees transforming the regional South Sudan Legislative
Assembly into a national one after independence. He confirmed and
merged the membership of the lawmakers elected to both Juba and
Khartoum during the interim period by 170 and 96, respectively, and
added 66 more new appointees, bringing the total number to 332.
The new house was scheduled to have its first sitting on Wednesday,
August 3, in which all the members would take oath of office in the
presence of the speaker of the house. However, disagreements over who
should lead the new house as speaker or deputy to the current speaker
have emerged for the last three days.
The SPLM’s deputy chairman, James Wani Igga, has been serving as the
speaker of the house in Juba for the last six years. He was recently
deputised by Daniel Awet Akot, who is member of the SPLM’s political
bureau, the highest organ of the ruling party and government and
former governor of the Lakes state.
Another senior official in the SPLM, Atem Garang, had served for
equally six years as deputy speaker in the national legislative
assembly in Khartoum.
With the coming back to Juba parliament of the members from Khartoum,
the incoming members want to reconcile their ranks with the ranks of
members in the previous regional parliament in Juba, hence demanding
that the position of either the speaker or the deputy speaker should
be allotted to those coming from Khartoum, a demand resisted by Juba
based legislators.
A member of the South Sudanese parliament told the Sudan Tribune by
telephone from Juba that the two blocks have reached a deadlock in the
debate over the issue which he said was referred to President Salva
Kiir Mayardit, on Thursday for further intervention.
He added that the difference was also complicated by the accommodation
of senior party members as well as consideration of regional balance
in the executive and legislative organs of the government.
The MP further said both Igga and Akot wanted to maintain their
respective positions as speaker and deputy speaker, respectively,
citing article 92 (1&2) of the transitional constitution which did not
specify the process of merging the two memberships.
He suggested that there is a need to find a mechanism to organise the
merger of the members of the National Assembly of the Republic of
Sudan in the South Sudan’s National Legislative Assembly in a way to
take in account their ranks and experience.
VICE-PRESIDENT NOT CONSULTED
The Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan, Riek Machar, was
not consulted by President Salva Kiir Mayardit in the process leading
to the final selection of nominees and appointment of the new members
to the national legislative assembly as well as to the council of
states, a reliable source has revealed.
A member of parliament who preferred anonymity told the Sudan Tribune
that the Vice President was not aware of the final selection process
and was as surprised as any body else when the new appointments of 96
members were officially announced on the official South Sudan
television.
He further said that the President sidelined his deputy and informally
consulted with a number of his close "loyalists" among the current
caretaker ministers and advisors, particularly among those that
drafted the transitional constitution. He also regretted that the
appointed membership is dominated by the Dinka ethnic group.
Attempts by the Sudan Tribune to confirm this development from the
office of the Vice President did not succeed.
Machar was constitutionally appointed by Kiir on 10 July for the third
time as his deputy following the attainment of independence on 9 July.
The vice-president last June showed his opposition to many provisions
of the transitional constitution - including the centralisation of
power and the presidents ability to dismiss elected representatives -
but Kiir ignored it and even criticised publicly Machar’s position
against the presidential attributions.
(ST)
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