Agreement Reached on Khartoum Constitution

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001053

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV SU
SUBJECT: Agreement Reached on Khartoum Constitution



1. SUMMARY: A Technical Committee (TC) formed by the
Khartoum Legislative Assembly (KLA) and made up of
representatives from the ruling National Congress Party
(NCP),the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM),and
the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has reached a
compromise on the draft constitution of Khartoum State.
This issue has been contested seriously by various
political forces for the last three months in the
Khartoum State Legislative Assembly. The agreement now
defines Khartoum as an Islamic state, while recognizing
its special status and the status of non-Muslims who live
in the capital. End Summary.

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Results of the Compromise
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2. The new draft constitution acknowledged Khartoum
State as both a northern Sudanese state and the national
capital of the Republic of Sudan, as well as a symbol of
national unity, where the country's diversity in creed,
culture, ethnicity, and language shall be respected.
Sharia law shall be implemented fully in Khartoum state,
but the rights of non-Muslims will be protected through
some form of special status. This draft constitution
will now be sent to the KLA for endorsement and finally
to the Federal Ministry of Justice for ratification and
compatibility with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
(CPA) and Interim National Constitution of Sudan. If
unresolved issues remain after that, the state
constitution may be sent to the Council of States for
final resolution.


3. Khartoum State has a unique status compared to other
Sudanese States, as it is both the national capital of
the Republic of Sudan and the capital of Khartoum State
as one of 15 northern states. It has a population of
about 7 million, including 4 million internally displaced
persons (IDPs) and squatters, mainly from Southern Sudan,
Southern Kordofan, and Western Sudan that were forced to
immigrate to Khartoum because of war.

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Formation of the Khartoum Government
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4. In January 2006, the Governor of Khartoum State, Dr.
Abdel Halim Ismail Al Motuwafi, established the Khartoum
Legislative Assembly (KLA) in accordance with the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) sections on power
sharing. The Assembly has 48 seats, with the National
Congress Party (NCP) occupying 31 seats, the Sudan
People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) 5 seats, and other
northern political parties 9 seats. The speaker is from
the NCP, and the deputy speaker is SPLM.


5. Khartoum State has not yet named its cabinet. The
cabinet shall be composed of 8 ministers, in which 4 go
to the NCP, 2 to the SPLM, and 2 to other northern
political forces in accordance with the CPA allocation
and distribution of power sharing. The governorship goes
to the NCP, with the deputy governor coming from the
SPLM. However, power sharing at state localities is
still to be worked out, as the Technical Committee could
not reach a compromise on it.

STEINFELD