Africa-Press – South-Sudan. A religious leader at the High-Level Mediation for South Sudan in Nairobi says linking the constitution-making with the conduct of general elections was a technical mistake the peace parties made in the 2018 peace deal.
The agreement said the permanent constitution shall be completed not later than twenty-four months following the establishment of the Transitional Period and shall be in place to guide the elections toward the end of the transition.
It adds that the Permanent Constitution-making process shall be based on the principles of the supremacy of the People of South Sudan.
Enock Tombe, the emeritus Bishop of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, representing the faith-based group at the negotiation says it took Kenya 40 years to pass its permanent constitution.
Speaking to Eye Radio from Nairobi on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, Tombe says the parties have presented their positions on what should guide drafting the permanent constitution.
“The agreement says the Constitution should be produced before elections I think that was probably a technical mistake people are here now listening to other countries, and it should not be linked to the election,” said retired Bishop Tombe.
“Elections will be done separately so we will see whether people agree on this so that elections will be done without basically tying to the constitution because the constitution needs people to be consulted. You don’t have to rush there are phases, phase one, phase two, and phase three,” he said.
Bishop Enock Tombe said the constitution-making body needs to first create awareness by informing the public on the constitution-making process.
This will be followed by drafting the first copy of the constitution by the constitution drafting committee.
The next phase shall be a national constitution conference to present the first draft before it is taken back to the constitution drafting committee for correction.
The other phase according to Bishop Tombe shall include a discussion of the second draft of the constitution by the national constitution conference.
And the constitution assembly shall correct and pass the draft of the constitution.
Bishop Enock Tombe also says the parties at the Nairobi peace initiative are discussing the possibility of separating constitution-making from the conduct of the general elections.
Edmond Yakani, a civil society delegate at the High-Level Mediation for South Sudan says the opposition prefers the constitution to be drafted outside the country but the government rejected the idea.
He adds that delegates are expected to adopt a joint position to support the process of drafting a permanent constitution that reflects the aspirations and values of the people of South Sudan.
“During the deliberations, two distinct positions merged out opposition was saying Constitution to be made outside the country while the government said no Constitution cannot be made outside the country, but the deliberations continued constructively and productively,” Yakani said.
The high-level mediation for South Sudan was launched on 9th May, to allow South Sudanese politicians and armed actors to reach a lasting peace in the interest of the South Sudanese people.
On May 16th 2024, parties at the Nairobi peace initiative also dubbed as Tumaini -a Swahili word for Hope, signed what they called a declaration to the Tumaini Initiative for the South Sudan peace process.
The 11-point declaration acts as the basis of the parties’ commitment towards the dialogue, adherence to cessation of hostilities and to attain a future free from violence in South Sudan.
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