South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has reconstituted the national parliament after dissolving it on Saturday, to pave way for the appointment of new MPs.
The names of the appointed MPs were announced on the national broadcaster, South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), on Monday night.
The expanded parliament now includes legislators from the former rebel group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) that is led by First Vice-President Riek Machar and other political parties.
According to the September 2018 revitalised peace agreement, the different political parties nominate their representatives to be appointed by the president.
The Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA), which was expanded on Monday from 400 to 550 MPs, consists of 332 lawmakers from President Kiir’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and 128 from Mr Machar’s SPLM-IO.
The remaining seats go to the other political parties: South Sudan’s Opposition Alliance (SSOA) 50, Other Political Parties (OPP) 30, and the Former Detainees (FDs) 10.
According to the agreement, 35% of the seats must be occupied by women.
