Machar accuses S. Sudan president of paralysing SPLM - Article <http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article48913#tabs-1> - Comments (184)<http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article48913#tabs-2>
[image: email] Email<http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?iframe&page=enviar_email_articulo&id_article=48913> [image: print] Print<http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?iframe&page=imprimable&id_article=48913> [image: pdf]Save<http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?page=spipdf&spipdf=spipdf_article&id_article=48913&nom_fichier=article_48913> [image: separation] [image: increase] <http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article48913#> [image: decrease] <http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article48913#> [image: separation] [image: separation] ------------------------------ November 23, 2013 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s former vice-president, Riek Machar, said actions of his president, Salva Kiir, also the chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), have paralysed the country’s ruling political party. Being the most senior deputy chairperson of the SPLM, Machar criticised Kiir’s recent statements dissolving the national structures of the party, including the National Liberation Council (NLC) and the Political Bureau (PB), saying such an action has had further negative impact on the activities of the party organs. "The president [chairman] statement has created a paralysis in the party", he said, adding that a party meeting scheduled for 23 November had "dissolved in thin air". He was making the remarks, extended to *Sudan Tribune* on Saturday, after learning that the long awaited meeting of the NLC, which was scheduled for 23-25 November, had been silently cancelled for the second time in just four weeks. He said despite being informed about the meeting to take place on Saturday, the SPLM national secretariat could not inform the members concerned about what has transpired. NLC is the legislative organ of the SPLM which approves party policies and programs while PB serves as the highest executive organ of the party that initiates such policies and programs. It was supposed to deliberate on and pass the four basic documents including the constitution, manifesto, code of conduct and rules and regulations, as well as address the internal differences among the party leaders. The SPLM is yet to register as a political party in the new republic of South Sudan and to organise a national convention in preparations for the upcoming 2015 elections. The party organs could hardly meet for the last one year despite 8 requests by the now suspended secretary general, Pagan Amum asking Kiir to call for the meetings, but in vain. Kiir’s announcement on dissolution of the structures on Friday last week created conflicting interpretations and reactions. While the government’s minister of information, Michael Makuei Lueth, said Kiir had not yet dissolved the structures, but would do it when time is right, the SPLM secretary for external affairs, Suzan Jambo, said Kiir had already dissolved them leaving only the secretariat general as the caretaker to run the party activities until a special committee is formed. The two officials of the government and party also maintained that Kiir acted constitutionally in accordance with the party constitution. In her latest argument Suzan Jambo quoted the SPLM party constitution, 2008, chapter X (25) sections (d), (e), (f) and (g), respectively, as the provisions from which Kiir derived his powers to dissolve the structures. The official further quoted the chairperson of her party as citing poor performance by the structures, specifically lack of follow-ups on actions, implementation, activities, and resolutions and policies. Also cited, among other reasons, was the repeated failure to hold the party meetings as required in its constituencies. Commenting on the attempt to justify Kiir’s decision as constitutional, Machar said the quoted article and sections in the SPLM constitution, 2008, only spell out the functions of the chairperson but have not mentioned any powers given to the chairperson to dissolve the structures. He said unless the officials used different version of constitution apart from the SPLM official constitution, 2008, "dissolving the structures was a clear unconstitutional action by the chairperson". On expiry of tenure, the SPLM, he said, held its second national convention in May 2008 after 14 years from 1994 when its first national convention was held. He further explained that the party constitution has not also provided for dissolution of structures if a third convention was not held by May 2013. Machar also blamed Kiir for the delays saying the chairman was requested 8 times by Amum to call for the PB and NLC meetings which would have passed the basic documents and subsequently organize for the said national convention, but Kiir refused. He charged that the chairman himself was the reason for failure of the SPLM, adding Kiir did not carry out his functions provided for in the party constitution to lead and supervise the party activities in order to ensure its success. "Failures of the chairman should not be thrown on others", he said. He however did not say what the aggrieved members of the dissolved structures would do in trying to correct the situation. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. 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