S. Sudan constitutional body meets on election related laws
May 9, 2018 (JUBA) – Members of South Sudan’s National Constitution Amendment Committee (NCAC) on Tuesday began the process of finalizing the review of draft bills containing amendments to the National Elections Act and Political Parties Act 2012.
The committee chaired by constitutional lawyer, Gichira Kibara has made commendable progress in the review and amendment of key national security related legislation as required by the 2015 peace agreement, the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) said.
According to the report, during the month of December 2017, the committee continued with the review and finalization of the amendment bills to the five security laws.
These, it stated, were handed over to the Justice minister in January, in accordance with Article 13.1.2 of the August 2015 agreement.
The submitted Bills include SPLA Act 2009 (Amendment) Bill, 2018, National Security Act 2014 (Amendment) Bill, 2018, Police Service Act 2009 (Amendment) Bill, 2018, Prisons Service Act 2011 (Amendment) Bill, 2018 and the Wildlife Service Act 2011 (Amendment) Bill, 2018.
In January 2018, the report further said, the committee provided a detailed report to JMEC on the approach, methodology and process of carrying out the amendments to the security Laws. This methodology included consultations with experts and stakeholders.
In January 2018, the committee met with and received joint submissions on proposed amendments to the Political Parties Act, 2012 and the National Elections Act, 2012, from representatives of 12 of the 14 registered political parties.
“The NCAC has since completed an initial review of these two laws incorporating the submissions received from the parties and stakeholders. A stakeholders meeting has subsequently been scheduled for May to validate the proposed amendments,” the report added.
The ratification of bills including the Constitution Amendment Bill (2018) and the Security Bills by the Transitional National Legislature, reconstitution of several transitional institutions and mechanisms, including the Political Parties Council and National Elections Commission, which are critical for paving way for the registration of political parties, and the preparation and conduct of elections at the end of the transitional period are some of the pending issues in the draft law, the report says.
“These are all tasks that will require a considerable amount of time and resources to be credible,” the notes.
The NCAC is established under Chapter 1 Article 13 of the ARCSS as one of the organs for implementation of the Agreement.
(ST)