S. Sudan lawmakers recalled from recess over constitutional amendment proposal

February 17, 2015 (JUBA) – South Sudan lawmakers are expected back to the assembly from recess to deliberate last week’s constitutional amendments proposed by cabinet.

The council of ministers, at its regular sitting, agreed to extend through parliament, the mandate of the president and national legislature for additional two years.

“We have asked all the members to return by 19 February. We have done this through the media, contacting them individually and through their friends and relatives of those we have not been able to reach over the past days,” speaker Magok Rundial said on Tuesday.

“We want to come back because there are important national matters. The constitutional amendment proposed by the council of ministers is one of the issues,” he added.

The speaker, however, said what emerged from cabinet was only a proposal, which would be debated by lawmakers in the assembly.

“The cabinet did not cancel the elections. It only initiated the proposal and forwarded to the parliament for scrutiny and examination. This is what the cabinet has done and this is one of the reasons for recalling the members from recess”, explained Rundial

“Now, in order for the changes to come into effect, the amendments have to be adopted by both the two houses, consisting of members and at least two-thirds of the parliamentary members representing different areas in each house”, he stressed.

According to the speaker, the two houses will convene an extraordinary session on 19 February to discuss the proposal from the council of ministers and see if it can be approved and adopted by the members after thorough scrutiny and structured debates.

“We are not the first in the world to amend the constitution to extend the term of the elected government. There are even countries in the west where constitutional amendments were made to avoid power vacuum and constitutional crisis”, Rundial said.

According to the proposal of the council of ministers, we will review and make amendment to Articles 66, 202 (2) and 102 of the Transitional Constitution, he added.

The mandate of president Salva Kiir and his government officially ends on 9 July this year.

(ST)