Political parties in South Sudan yesterday reached a deal on allotment of 17 new seats in the Transitional National Legislative Assembly, which are set to be created under the terms of the August 2015 peace deal.

Chapter 1, Article 11.1 of the peace deal provides for the expansion of the existing parliament from 332 members to 400 members, including 50 from SPLM-IO, 1 from SPLM-FD and 17 from other political parties.

President Salva Kiir has already appointed the 50 members from SPLM-IO, the armed opposition, though they have not yet been sworn in.

Until yesterday, however, the non-armed political parties had not agreed among themselves which parties would be given new seats and how many per party. There has been a long-standing division among them between those supporting the government and those who are more critical of the government.

The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), which is tasked with overseeing implementation of the peace deal, announced in a press release yesterday that the parties have agreed among each other how to allocate the 17 seats.

Francois Lounceny Fall, the former prime minister of Guinea and deputy chairman of JMEC, “witnessed the consensus selection” by the parties of their representatives in parliament as well as other institutions of the transitional government, according to the press statement.

“Pursuant to Chapter I, Article 11.1 of the Agreement, which provides for seventeen (17) seats to be allocated to other political parties in the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA), it was agreed that one TNLA seat would be allocated to each of the following parties:

United Democratic Party (UDP),

South Sudan Labour Party (SLP),

Sudan African National Union (SANU) – National Party, Communist Party of South Sudan (CPSS),

National Democratic Front (NDF),

National Liberation Party (NLP),

United South Sudan Party (USSP),

South Sudan Democratic Front (SSDF),

SPLM – Democratic Change (SPLMDC),

Popular Congress Party (PCP),

Democratic Unionist Party-Original (DUP-O),

and the National United Democratic Front (NUDF).

“The United Democratic Front (UDF) will also be allocated a TNLA seat, subject to resolution of its leadership dispute. The Southern Democratic Alliance and the National Congress Party (NCP) are to be allocated two TNLA seats each,” reads the JMEC press release.

The parties also agreed on who should represent the political parties in JMEC itself, the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM), National Constitutional Amendment Committee, and Board of the Special Reconstructino Fund.

On the occasion of the meeting, Francois Lounceny Fall remarked, “We are taking forward the principle of inclusivity. It is clear that the positions and views of others may differ from those of the principal signatories, but that is no reason for them to be excluded. It is JMEC’s determination that the intent of the drafters, and the intent of the Agreement, is to ensure multi-party participation in the institutions of the Agreement. I am happy that today’s meeting has moved towards achieving this objective.”

File photo: South Sudan's parliament