The South Sudanese parliament on Thursday received a report from its Legislation and Justice Committee on a proposed constitutional amendment to give President Salva Kiir new powers to divide existing states and create new ones.

A controversial vote on the proposed constitutional amendments was held the same day. Politicians have made various claims about how many members voted in favor of the amendment. No vote count appears to have been formally taken, though the Assembly Speaker had announced that there were only 189 members present in the parliament, less than the required 2/3 majority for passing constitutional amendments.

The amendment bill itself was drafted by the Ministry of Justice in October. It proposes that the president be given new powers to enact his plan to divide the country's existing ten states into 28 states.

Specifically, the bill proposes that the president may “divide the territory of the Republic of South Sudan into states and other areas...” 

The bill further gives the president the power to appoint the members of state legislative assemblies and to appoint the governors of all states. The constitution as it stands now says that these officials must be elected. 

The constitutional amendment was drafted after President Salva Kiir decided that his Establishment Order issued on 2 October needed parliamentary approval in order to take effect. Kiir envisioned the creation of 28 new states divided largely along ethnic lines. 

The proposed constitutional amendment may be downloaded at this link.

Related: 

New decree creates ethnic enclave for Nuer (2 Oct.)

Kiir and Makuei want 28 states in S Sudan (2 Oct.)