A civil society group has called for the reopening of the Jonglei State Legislative Assembly, saying its prolonged closure has limited lawmakers’ ability to represent their constituents and exercise oversight of the state government.
The National Civil Society Coalition renewed the call about a month after a new speaker was appointed and sworn in, following a vacancy that lasted about a year.
The assembly has not resumed sitting since going into recess in November 2024.
Bol Deng Bol, head of the National Civil Society Coalition, questioned why the legislature remained closed after the appointment of a new speaker.
“The state assembly remained closed for two years. After a new speaker was sworn in, the hope was that the assembly would reopen, but that did not happen,” Bol told Radio Tamazuj.
He said the speaker was expected to be sworn in during a parliamentary sitting, but the assembly did not resume its sessions.
“We only see a speaker who attends meetings at forums on his behalf, not on behalf of the assembly, because it is closed,” Bol said.
Bol said the coalition had repeatedly contacted the assembly’s leadership but had been told that preparations were underway to reopen it.
“Up to now, we don’t know why the assembly is closed. Is it a budgetary issue, as they always claim? Is it a lack of political will? Or do MPs still want to enjoy their recess?” he said.
He said the closure had prevented residents from raising local concerns through their elected representatives, particularly amid communal disputes that he linked to what he described as the unilateral creation of payams and bomas.
“There have never been services that people are getting through their MPs. So the biggest challenge due to the assembly closure is that local voices are not heard,” Bol said.
Gatluak Reat, a member of the state assembly, supported the call for its reopening and accused the state executive of deliberately weakening the legislature’s oversight role.
“The continued closure is not because there is no speaker but because there is no political will,” Reat said.
“Even the speaker was sworn in in the absence of the majority of MPs,” he said, adding that lawmakers were unable to do much while the assembly remained closed.
Another lawmaker, Deng Bol Wuol, rejected the suggestion that the executive was responsible for the closure, citing economic difficulties.
He said, however, that efforts were underway to reopen the assembly.
“To reopen the assembly, you will need a budget for 100 MPs and 17 heads of specialised committees with their deputies,” Wuol said.
He said state revenue sources, including the fisheries sector, had been affected by insecurity.
“However, the new speaker is working hard to reopen the state assembly,” he said.
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