Dr Riang Yer, the newly appointed Chairperson of the National Constitutional Review Commission - Credit: PPU

The transitional government has run out of time to complete the permanent constitution-making process within the scheduled period, said the head of the Reconstituted National Constitutional Review Commission.

Dr. Riang Yer expressed doubts that the permanent constitution-making process will be over before February 2025, citing delays in its implementation.

The 2018 peace deal stipulates that South Sudan’s transition to an elected government requires that a permanent constitution be in place six months before the end of the interim period.

With the tenure of the unity government concluding in February 2025, this means the constitution-making process must be completed exactly by August 2024 – just five months away.

However, RNCRC Chairperson Dr. Riang, said the time left is not enough to make it a people’s driven exercise.

Riang further said the process has not even started.

“If you look at the steps to be taken, a lot of time is being wasted or eaten away by the delays. We cannot be sure as to when exactly will we start,” he stated.

Dr. Riang, who spoke on Eye Radio’s Sundown Program, said the situation does not give his commission any reason to say a permanent constitution will be over before then.

“The time is actually running out, if you look at the sequencing of the Constitution Making Process, the process should be complete six months before the end of the transitional period and the end of transitional period is February 22, 2025.”

“Counting six months, it means that the constitution-making should come to an end by August and from now, it is only five months, and a credible constitution cannot be done in five months specially when it is supposed to be people’s driven constitution.”

First established by a Presidential order on January 9, 2012, the commission is mandated to conduct a nationwide civic education, public consultations, and formulate a draft permanent constitution for the Republic of South Sudan.

It was then reconstituted on November 3, 2023, in accordance with Chapter Five of the revitalized peace agreement and Article 9.1 of the Constitution Making Process Act 2022.

The unity government is yet to convene the long-demanded consensus meeting to decide on whether the country’s first general elections will proceed without some of the critical pending tasks – including the absence of a permanent constitution.

This comes amid diverging views from the peace parties – with the SPLM, SSOA and OPP voicing readiness for polls in December 2024 – while the SPLM-IO proposed implementation of critical provisions to avert a chaotic election.