Exiled activist blames ‘one-man’ constitution for 2013 Conflict

JUBA, JULY 17, 2023 (SUDANPOST) – Exiled South Sudanese activist Wani Michael is calling for a new constitution before elections are held, saying the current transitional constitution is to blame for the 2013 conflict.

In a tweet on Sunday, Michael said the 2011 constitution created a “one-man” system where President Salva Kiir had too much power.

“The Transitional Constitution, 2011 (As Amended) was a primary source of the 2013 conflict because President Kiir abused his constitutional power and authority,” he said. “The Constitution never created clear parameters of separation of powers.”

“Where on earth can a president fire elected officials from their positions, remove a justice of the Supreme Court arbitrarily? It became a ‘ONE MAN’ constitution,” he added.

Michael said that the constitution needs to be reformed before the country can hold free and fair elections.

“We can’t talk about elections without fixing the constitutional and legal issues,” he said. “Elections MUST be anchored in the constitution and the law.”

The 2013 conflict, which came as a result of a power struggle between Kiir and his current first deputy Riek Machar, was a civil war that lasted for five years and killed more than 400,000 people.

The war ended in 2018 with a peace agreement that was signed by Kiir and Machar. There is supposed to be elections at the end of a three-year transitional period.

However, setbacks in the peace implementation have cast doubt on the conduct of elections as provided for in the revitalized peace agreement.