At least 37 members of the Equatorian members and 23 Nuer members in South Sudan’s national legislature yesterday boycotted a vote to approve constitutional amendments that would enable President Salva Kiir to create 28 states as proposed last month.

This represents a partial boycott of the vote on the part of the Equatoria Caucus, which includes mostly SPLM members as well as Equatorian MPs from other parties. Overall there are more than 50 Equatorian MPs. 

The head of the Equatoria Parliamentary Caucus Thomas Wani Kundu told several media houses including Radio Tamazuj that a block of Equatorian MPs boycotted the sitting.

“The sitting of yesterday was unconstitutional,” said the MP. “Equatoria was 37 MPs who boycotted the sitting.”

Kundu, who is also the head of the parliament’s information committee, pointed out that some lawmakers of the caucus attended the meeting while others boycotted, meaning that the caucus was effectively split.

Separately, a source told Radio Tamazuj that about 23 Nuer MPs also boycotted the sitting, but about 9 Nuer MPs voted to approve the constitutional amendments.

Not more than 189 members of parliament attended the vote yesterday, according to Speaker Manasseh Magok, which means that not enough NLA members were present in the assembly to secure a 2/3 vote in favour of the measures for creating 28 states as proposed by the president.

File photo