The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs has invalidated the USD 75,000 registration fee requirement for political parties which was instituted by the Political Parties Council.
In March, a coalition of 14 opposition political parties petitioned the chairman of the South Sudan Political Parties Council (PPC), James Akol, over the USD 75,000 provisional registration fees for political parties, which they said was exorbitant.
The PPC however did not respond to the petition, forcing Advocate Gabriel Kuot Akok, the legal counsel of the 14 political parties, to serve the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs a letter of intent to sue the PPC in the regional East Africa Court of Justice.
However, on Monday, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Justice Ruben Madol Arol, issued a decision nullifying the USD 75,000 registration fees which he was illegal and considered null and void.
Reacting to the development, Adv. Gabriel Kuot Akok welcomed the decision of the minister, saying the whooping USD 75,000 registration fees were a violation of the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan and the Political Parties Council Act 2012 among other laws including the South Sudan Bank Act 2011 which provides that all transactions in public and private institutions must be made in local currency which is the South Sudanese Pound (SSP).
“On behalf of these [political] parties and as their lawyer, I welcome the decision of the justice minister and I expect the chairman of the Political Parties Council to commence the registration process in accordance with the Political Parties Council Regulations 2015 since the regulation of 2024 is under amendment,” he said.
According to Adv. Kuot, the Political Parties Regulations 2015 that the SPLM and other 13 political parties were registered under is still valid and therefore parties should register in accordance to that regulation.
“We have the regulation of 2015 under which the SPLM and other 13 political parties were registered and the amount under that particular regulation which is still in force up to now was SSP 20,000,” he enlightened. “The political parties registered in 2015 and 2016 were registered with this amount (SSP 20,000), so, this regulation can now only be amended unless it is amended to have a new regulation of 2024 which they are still working on.”
“It is not yet legally binding so the previous law is still active until it is amended, therefore any party intending to register must now be charged in accordance with the regulation of 2015,” Kuot added.
Meanwhile, Natale Ukele Alexander, the chairman of the United People`s Party, welcomed the decision, saying justice has been served for the parties.
“Justice has been served, rule of law is in place and I thank the minister for what he has done,” he said.