Jonglei state assembly set to nominate speaker
June 30, 2016 (BOR) – Jonglei state government in South Sudan will elect speaker of the state legislative assembly after more than seven months since the assembly went on seemingly indefinite recess.
On 17 June 2016, South Sudan president Salva Kiir appointed 22 members, out of which 13 were members elected in 2010 general elections and 9 new ones, including a member who replaced Deu Aguil, who passed away in two years ago while representing SPLM women list for Twic East county.
The presidential degree did not dissolve the existing assembly structures including heads of business committees and the office of the speaker.
On Monday, 27 June 2016, however Jonglei state governor degreed the dissolution of such structures, which prompted the assembly to converge and select new members to hold those offices.
During the interview with former speaker, Peter Deng Aguer, who was still the acting speaker, he told Sudan Tribune that the assembly was set to sit on Monday 4 July to elect a new speaker who would then appoint new heads of committees.
Aguer, who took up his post as the speaker of Jonglei state assembly in April 2014, held the office till 27 June, 2016.
“Dissolution of Assembly business committees (ABC) through the governor’s degree, means the final term of the previous term has ended, with the plans of restructuring the assembly right from the office of the speaker to the other offices that are going to be constituted,” explained Aguer.
The ABCs were held by members from the previous assembly, some of whom had now gone to their new states that were created when former Jonglei state was re-divided.
The current members of Jonglei state assembly are all from the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM), the ruling party in South Sudan.
In Jonglei state, the next speaker would be selected by the SPLM members in the state through consensus on the basis of power sharing between the counties constituting Jonglei state.
“As far as SPLM party is concerned, this one will be conducted through the consensus of the party members. Since the Assembly is purely an SPLM, it has been agreed that the four major positions in the state government (Governor and speaker positions and their deputies) are divided through meetings, not necessary that one contests and he gets it,” explained Aguer.
The former speaker said it would be difficult to predict who would be the next speaker for the state assembly, but revealed that the next speaker would come from Duk per the state power sharing arrangements.
“Twic East occupies post of the governor, his deputy is from Bor. That means the position of the speaker is going to Duk, but who will come from Duk, will be determined when the assembly sits and Duk members of parliament nominate the person. This person would be endorsed by the members’ [of the] assembly who come from Bor and Twic East,” he said.
Among the positions for which the members would be elected or nominated in the assembly include the government chief whip, heads of ABCs besides the speaker’s post.
(ST)