SPLM forms panel to accelerate legislations revision

Aug 13, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The former rebel SPLM signatory of the CPA with the Sudanese government decided to form a MPs panel to work on the huge number of legislations that do not cope with the interim constitution.

SPLM’s Parliamentary Group has formed a parliamentary committee in charge of revising legislations which do not cope with the Constitution and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

One of the major reasons of the slow implementation of the CPA signed on 9 January 2005 between the SPLM and GoS is the slowness in the revising of the existing laws that do not cope with the interim constitution promulgated in July 2005.

The Committee draws Ramdan Shamila, Ghazy Suleiman and a number of lawyers. SPLM’s Parliamentary Group is ready to cooperate with Legislative Authority comprising the National Assembly and the Council of States and representatives of other parliamentary groups and civil societies, said Head of the Group, Yassir Arman in a press statement on Sunday.

In accordance with the CPA many existing legislations have to be revised and conform with the interim constitution but as the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) has the majority in the National Assembly and the Council of States (Senate) it hinders a swift revision of the laws.

Analysts say this issue is one of the major faults committed by the SPLM and and other opposition groups when they accepted the existence of anti-democratic laws. “They ought to demand the abrogation of these laws before any measure because the NCP with his majority blocks the CPA implementation through these laws”.

They also blame the carelessness of this issue by Salva Kiir who neglected the party that related to democratization of the country in the CPA.

Among the concerned laws, there are laws related to the civil service, national security bill, the press, trade unions.

(ST)