South Sudan’s Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) has begun registering lawmakers as they return from a three-month recess, though the parliament has yet to formally reopen as scheduled.
The assembly, established under the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, adjourned in December and was due to resume in early April. However, the reopening has been delayed without explanation.
TNLA spokesperson Oliver Mori Benjamin told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that registration is underway to determine attendance but did not provide a reopening date.
“We have started the registration of the members, and once we reach the quorum, then [parliament] will be opened,” Benjamin said. “The quorum is half of 550 plus one.”
Under parliamentary rules, the TNLA — which has 550 members — can only resume sessions once at least half are registered.
“Normally, before opening, members register in parliament. When they reach half of the total 550 members, the sitting can be declared,” Benjamin explained.
The plan to reopen the assembly comes amid heightened security and political tensions following the March 26 house arrest of Vice President Riek Machar.
His party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), has said his detention “effectively brings … to a collapse” the fragile 2018 peace agreement that ended five years of conflict.
Last week, a group of SPLM-IO members in Juba appointed Peacebuilding Minister Stephen Par Kuol as interim leader, though senior party officials boycotted the move. Kuol said he would serve as the party’s interim leader until Machar’s release.
It remains unclear whether the internal SPLM-IO dispute will further delay parliament’s reopening.
The national parliament is composed of 332 SPLM members, 128 SPLM-IO members, 50 SSOA members, 30 OPP members and 10 Former Detainees members.