A Member of Parliament allied to the SPLM-IO faction led by the country’s First Vice-President, Taban Deng Gai, has stayed away from sittings of parliament for several months.
Paul Bor Gatwech, the SPLM-IO chief whip in the national parliament, travelled to Australia in August to visit his family.
Otim David, the acting SPLM-IO chief in the national parliament confirmed to Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that their chief whip has been absent from parliamentary sittings for several months.
But the MP insisted that Gatwech said that he will return to resume his work. “I talked to him last week and he told me that he will come back soon. Gatwech did not tender his resignation the leadership of SPLM-IO, so he is still the chief whip,” he said.
“Gatwech has been updating me that he is going to come but he has family problems. He said that he wants to settle some issues there is Australia,” he added.
Otim pointed out that the opposition chief whip missed six parliamentary sittings.
Paul Bor could not immediately be reached for comment.
An MP could lose his or her membership if he or she missed over twelve parliamentary sessions without permission, as stipulated by the national asssembly's 2011 conduct of business protocol.