South Sudan’s new parliament has finally been fully reconstituted on Monday in Juba, after almost two months since its appointment into the country’s Reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly and the Council of States.
In all, 588 MPs from the ruling party and former rebel factions who signed the truce, took the oath of office at a ceremony presided over by the chief justice.
The creation of an inclusive national assembly was a key condition of the 2018 ceasefire that paused five years of bloodshed between government and rebel forces that left nearly 400,000 people dead.
The convening of parliament comes nearly a year behind schedule and remains incomplete, with 62 MPs absent from the swearing-in ceremony, some because of squabbles with the government over the power-sharing arrangement.
Daniel Awet, deputy of the ruling SPLM party, hailed the occasion as a show of unity. He told the parliamentarians, community leaders and church representatives present for the occasion that “It is only through unity of purpose and love of one another that we progress our country and secure the future for the young generation that have been saved after long wars.”
The Speaker of the new parliament of South Sudan will be Jemma Nunu Kumba, the first ever in the ten-year-old country.
Jemma Nunu Kumba pledged to unite the house in executing tasks before it. Kumba will be responsible for the implementation of the peace agreement.
“No one should hesitate to approach my office should you have any burning point which is useful for nurturing peace in our beloved country, or make the parliament do its work more efficiently,” Kumba told MPs shortly after the swearing-in.