KHARTOUM LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY PASSED THE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001189

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV SU
SUBJECT: KHARTOUM LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY PASSED THE
CONSTITUTION OF KHARTOUM STATE

REF: Khartoum 1053


1. SUMMARY: The Khartoum Legislative Assembly (KLA)
unanimously passed the draft constitution of Khartoum
State on May 13, 2006, after the Joint NCP and SPLM High
Committee resolved the 4 pending controversial points:
status of Khartoum state with Sharia law and special
courts for non-Muslims, Arabic being named the official
language in Khartoum with protections for English, the
oath of the governor following the national oath, and the
oaths of the ministers and the parliamentarians also
reflecting the national oaths (reftel). A fifth issue,
the distribution of power in the localities between the
NCP and SPLM, will be decided on by the Presidency in
consultation with the governor of Khartoum. The CPA does
not directly address this issue. KLA has now sent the
draft constitution to the Federal Ministry of Justice for
ratification. If there are no substantial changes, the
constitution will be return for the signature of the
governor of Khartoum state and speaker of KLA. End
Summary.

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Points Agreed Upon
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2. After boycotting the first committee discussion on
the initial NCP proposal for the Khartoum constitution in
March, the SPLM again boycotted the first general
assembly session to discuss this compromise draft, held
on May 6. However, once the SPLM had time to fully
review the draft, they approved it unanimously. The
preamble of the draft constitution is adapted from the
Switzerland constitution that recognizes the diversity of
the country.


3. Under the compromise, Khartoum is defined as the
national capital, and a symbol of national unity. The
compromise also defines Sudan as a pluralistic country in
creed, ethnicity, culture and language, where `the rule
is for God who created the people as expressed in all
heavenly religions. (Note: this is the only verse taken
from the Koran. End Note.) The rights of non-Muslim
should be protected as enshrined in the interim national
constitution, article 157. Sharia law will be allowed in
Khartoum, but there will be special courts for non-
Muslims.


4. The first article of the constitution states that
Arabic shall be the official language in Khartoum state;
while the second article states that there shall be no
discrimination between Arabic and English.


5. The oath of office of the governor of Khartoum state,
controversial because of the religious aspects in the
first draft, will now follow the oath of the President of
the Republic of Sudan. For the same reason, the oath of
the ministers of Khartoum state is parallel to the oath
of federal ministers, and the oath of the members of KLA
is inline with the oath of the members of National
Assembly (NA).

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Unresolved Point
--------------


6. The only unresolved point is the power sharing in the
localities of Khartoum state, which is not described in
the CPA. The Presidency and the governor of Khartoum
state are assigned to frame a formula for the allocation
and distribution of power sharing between NCP and SPLM in
the localities of Khartoum state.

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Acceptance and Caution
--------------


7. It is the general feelings of the members of KLA,
including the SPLM, that the comprised reached by the
High Committee is fair and satisfactory. However, they
expect to see fair power sharing in the allocation and
distribution in the localities of Khartoum state.

HUME