The Southern Sudan Political Parties’ Leadership Forum

The Southern Sudan Political Parties’ Leadership Forum concluded its meetings on Thursday [17 February 2011] here in Juba and reached the following decisions wherein it:

1. Approved the results of the Southern Sudan Referendum and congratulated the people of Southern Sudan on their historic decision to vote overwhelmingly for independence;
   
2. Commended and approved the report of the Chairman of the Southern Sudan 2011 Referendum Taskforce;
   
3. Unanimously approved that the name of the new state be “The Republic of South Sudan”;
   
4. Approved that the name of the new currency be the “South Sudan Pound”;
   
5. Approved the participation of political parties, civil society organisations and faith-based groups, and the inclusion of their members, in the established technical committee to review the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan (ICSS). United South Sudan Party is among the eleven political parties that will join the technical committee in reviewing the interim constitution;
   
6. Approved that the post-referendum process of creating a National Anthem and a Coat of Arms (emblem) for the new nation proceed as planned under the Taskforce Technical Working Group’s work plan with public participation in those activities;
   
7. Approved the current Flag, which the SPLM party has now surrendered to the new nation;
   
8. Approved that the amended draft ICSS be presented to the Political Parties’ Leadership Forum before it is presented to the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly.
   

It’s important to note that all the other political parties agreed to work together in unison in order to ensure that no single party or government entity gets away with doing things unilaterally. The new country still faces challenging times ahead. Several issues still remain unresolved, such as the duration of the transitional period, the percentages of participation by other political parties (i.e. power sharing), the dissolution of the current institutions of GOSS (Government of Southern Sudan), to mention but a few.

Clement J. Mbugoniwia
Juba, South Sudan