Sudan drafts new constitution

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Jun 26, 2005 (UPI) — Sudan finalized the draft for the country’s new constitution Sunday and submitted it to President Omar Bashir.

The draft interim constitution for Sudan is held aloft by Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir, in Khartoum, Sudan, on Sunday, June 26, 2005.(AP) .

An official statement quoted Bashir as saying the document received a “consensus unprecedented since Sudan’s independence 50 years ago.”

The draft was written by a commission representing all parties, including some in the opposition, in the past two months amid political controversy over its content. Bashir is to present the draft to parliament and to the southern Sudanese Popular Movement for review and endorsement.

The constitution was drafted on the basis of the peace treaty signed in January between the Khartoum government and the southern Popular Movement, which ended more than 20 years of civil strife in the south.

Officials do expect the draft to be amended by either the Sudanese parliament or the southern organization. The constitution was due to be endorsed and enacted by July.

A new Sudan government is expected to be formed under the new constitution.