South Sudan's Minister of Information Michael Makuei Lueth says the reconstitution of the council of states will happen soon, as most parties already submitted names of their nominees to the presidency.

The Council of States and the national legislature were dissolved last week, but the national legislature was reconstituted on Monday as per the revitalized peace agreement. The Council of States and the state legislative assemblies are yet to be reconstituted.

"The Council of States nominees are complete and the list is in the office of the president but we don’t know when they will be announced to the public. But what I can assure you is that the suggested list has reached the table of the president," Makuei told RadioTamazuj yesterday.

Makuei further said the state assemblies will also be reconstituted soon but some parties are yet to submit their list of nominees.

"There are only about five or six states who managed to submit their lists and the rest are yet to do so. So, we expect the announcement soon," he added.

Makuei, also the government spokesperson, said the shift from 32 to 10 states is partly to blame for the delay as parties need to consult widely. 

"The delay is related to the consultation that is going on among parties. Don’t forget that earlier on, we had 32 states and now people are back to the 10 states. So they need to consult and reach a consensus over the representation of each group. So this process has led to the delay in the submission of lists from some states," Makuei explained.

The revitalized peace agreement demands that the reconstituted Council of States be expanded from 50 to 100 members representative of all the parties to the agreement.

Observers and monitors of the peace deal have called on the parties to ensure the implementation of the 35% representation quota for women according to the deal.