Thursday, June 23, 2016

Abu Deng's Analysis of the Process for the South Sudan Parliamentary Speaker Election - Updated





This is a needed exercise due to the serious political maneuvering seen in the media and the recent trips to JMEC by a Women's delegation and one trip to Addis Ababa by VP Wani Igga - it should be made clear to all: the Rule of Law should be supreme here, now! 

So if the IGAD or JMEC or even the President of South Sudan wishes to influence/dictate to us regarding this election - this is "Our" democratic process - all should stop,

Because,

There is a clear procedure written, approved and published by the National Legislative Assembly - the NLA Conduct of Business Regulations Manual (2011) - which states in Chapter III the exact procedures for electing a new Speaker. 


Additionally, the recent Peace Agreement, hereafter known as ARCISS, states specifically that the incoming Speaker for the Transitional government or TGONU shall come from the Equatoria region of South Sudan in section 11.4 of the agreement:

  • The selection of the Speaker of the TNLA, who hails from Equatoria, shall be conducted once the expansion of the membership of the Assembly is complete; 

In short: the former government, now a warring party, wrote, approved and published this NLA regulations handbook itself, including a procedure for electing a Speaker - so why now disregard its own rules and law.

The attempts by many to chose a Speaker outside the defined process is counterproductive to all that the international community has been trying to do in the nation-building experiment called The Republic of South Sudan. 

This review will focus on key issues of the electoral process that are being discussed/manipulated and repackaged into something different than what the procedures call for, so this post will focus the key themes:

  • Whom shall elect the Speaker
  • Agenda when electing the Speaker
  • Selection/qualification of the Presiding NLA Member during election
  • Form of voting required for the election of the Speaker

The excerpts in this post are taken from the above-mentioned NLA Handbook (note these are photographs - not copy-paste texts)



WHOM SHALL ELECT THE SPEAKER


The rule in this regard says simply:

  • Members of the Assembly shall elect The Speaker from their number.

Clearly little interpretation or misinterpretation can happen from this well-defined sentence saying They, the members of the Legislative body of South Sudan, will elect the Speaker from among their ranks - not J1 or IGAD or AU nor the global community at large shall elect a Speaker but only the People's Representatives in the National Legislative Assembly.

One hopes the recent visit of Vice President Wani Igga to Addis Ababa was not to seek the IGAD's or Ethiopia's blessing for the IG candidate(s) because as the home of IGAD/AU and a long history of attempting to serve as a model for all African nations is too important to jeopardize over political favoritism.

Yet I hear of a Women's delegation visiting JMEC recently trying to influence this "expected" neutral monitoring body, to favor one candidate, albeit a female one - over others...

Dear JMEC Head please avoid/resist involvement in such political maneuverings for the credibility of your office will surely be questioned! Let democracy work...

Strikingly and hopefully duly noted by regional/international bodies, the chairman of the Equatoria Caucus in the NLA, Thomas Wani Kundu says the person chosen as Speaker can be from any party, just as long as he is from Equatoria:

“We need to sit together so that we can get one person… as long as he is from Equatoria,” Kundu said.

(See, South Sudan’s Equatorians begin race for parliament speaker - http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article58876)

One statement from the article above says,

The parties to the agreement have not however agreed on the mode of electing the speaker.

But of course this is not correct because a procedure on electing the Speaker is clearly defined in the Legislative Business Regulations handbook, including the form of voting...so this is a misguided notion.

Why not follow NLA's established rules and law? Why make such statements as this MP,

Last week, the chairperson for information at the parliament, Oliver Mori, said the speaker would come from the ruling SPLM party, claiming that James Wani Igga stepped down for Dr Riek Machar, an SPLM-IO.



News on this issue abound:


Equatoria Caucus Blames JMEC, TGoNU For Delay In Speaker Election


Salva Kiir wants Speaker of Parliament to be SPLM 


AGENDA WHEN ELECTING THE SPEAKER


Here is another key issue:

  • No business shall be transacted in the Assembly, other than the election of The Speaker, when the Office of the Speaker is vacant.

The election of the Speaker is of such importance it should not be mixed with any other business of the NLA. The Assembly is expected to give this event its singularly-focused attention.


SELECTION/QUALIFICATIONS OF PRESIDING NLA MEMBER FOR SPEAKER ELECTION


Here is another key yet controversial issue, as seen in media reports.

The rule says:

  • The most elderly Member of the Assembly shall serve as Presiding Officer for the election of The Speaker.

This issue has garnered attention in the media. While the "old" government/warring party wishes to select its Favorite, the current "illegal" Speaker of the NLA, the  Rt. Honorable Magok Rundial - Yet the NLA Business Procedure handbook says "The most elderly Member, who is General Peter Cirilo Swaka according to the Chairman of the Equatoria Caucus.

This is a "Rule of Law" issue, where law exists there is no need for political decisions which are more likely to cause problems, instability. Let process and regulation reign here.

FORM OF VOTING REQUIRED FOR ELECTION OF THE SPEAKER


This part is perhaps the most controversial issue of all, yet unnecessarily so given the rule is explicit,

  • Subject to the provisions of Sub-Regulation (10), the election of The Speaker shall be by secret ballot.

Given this government has entered into war with itself, killing thousands of its own citizens, in the most historically brutal way, according to local, regional and international reports/sources:

It cannot be trusted to be impartial - I think not - with death squads still roaming the streets of Juba and the nation, also called 'unknown gunmen'. No one is safe even the FVP, me or even a priest - and too, after learning this week South Sudan is the number one most violent nation in Africa, over Somalia, the Congo even Nigeria...

I think secret ballot voting is fine for this coming Speaker election, it is fair and is the prescribed method for this process approved by the South Sudan National Legislative Assembly in 2011, as seen above.


Conclusion: UPDATED


If JMEC, IGAD or J1 attempts to overstep/ignore the current Speaker election process, defined in our nation's legislative regulation handbook - this will be a serious violation of process, law and even a negative bite of the "Democracy Apple" the West has been trying so desperately to tempt Africa with for over a century - and which IGAD/AU has been a guiding light for in Africa as well.

Finally, even the Greater Equatoria Community (its Caucus) agrees too the key requirement is that the incoming Speaker comes from their region of Equatoria but not from a certain party, i.e., IG, FD, IO or Independent Parties.


President Kiir admits why the Government formation is delayed: Political manuvering

Doubting loyalty of SPLM Caucus
In his speech on Wednesday, meanwhile, Kiir expressed doubts about the loyalty of his own SPLM members of parliament, suggesting that they may select a speaker of parliament whom he does not approve. 
Selection of the new speaker has delayed formation of the Transitional National Assembly. 
"Our members of the parliament who are here should go and talk among themselves. Because we are told now that why don't you put it to elections? And you have the majority. I said no, I don't want it, and even I don't trust your majority. Yes, you have two-thirds in the parliament but if one-third goes and defects, what will happen? Well they will just give it to the other side. This is what we don't want." 
"I want you really to be clear about this. And most of the adopted children are in the parliament," he said, possibly in reference to members of the party who joined SPLM only late in the liberation struggle or after it had ended. 
South Sudan's peace deal says that the speaker of the assembly must be an Equatorian. Many members of the Equatorian Caucus, including those belonging to the SPLM, boycotted key recent votes on legislation supported by Kiir, including the National Security Service bill and proposed constitutional amendments intented to legalize the Establishment Order, which created 28 controversial new states.
Votes on both of those bills failed to reach quorum, in spite of the overwhelming numerical majority of SPLM in the assembly.
Chapter I, Article 11.4 of the peace deal states, "The selection of the Speaker of the TNLA, who hails from Equatoria, shall be conducted once the expansion of the membership of the Assembly is complete."
It further states that the duration and term of the transitional assembly shall run concurrently with the transitional government. According to some MPs who are critical of the delay forming the new assembly, this means that currently South Sudan has no legal parliament.

So the President is playing pure politics, trying to position his (IG) party to obtain the Speaker position while the nation starves waiting for the new government to be formed! 

Let Process rule Mr. President...and Democracy! Let the Legislative Assembly vote, as proscribed: under a secret ballot with its most senior NLA member presiding while no other business is being conducted (FULL STOP), as its rules dictate...

That is the Law of South Sudan - honour it please! 

Let "The People's Representatives" Choose . . .


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