As South Sudan gear up for the election, R-TNLA passes political parties bill.

The national interim parliament has enacted a law that some critics believe is intended to isolate minority parties ahead of upcoming elections.

The legislation has seven elements, including the founding of political parties, their registration, and financial support for their development and expansion, among others.

Before the act was approved, the Speaker of the N-TNLA read it aloud. “Thank you very much, [honorable members of parliament], we passed it completely.”

Despite objections from several opposition party members about the procedures for providing funds to political parties and the prerequisites for a party to be legally established, the measure was enacted.

The statute requires a political party to have at least 500 members from all 10 states in order to be registered.

“So, if the goal of this measure is to guarantee that political parties are controlled, then the notion of placing numbers in order to restrict political parties or tiny parities from registering should be out,” said South Sudan Opposition Alliance candidate Peter Lomude Francis.

And that a party’s funding will be distributed depending on the result of a general election.

“Now, there is a contradiction here that I would want to point out; if you look at rule 36 on how this money is to be dispersed, the goal of the fund is to guarantee that political parties may compete on an equal playing field.”

But, according to Lomude, “this contradicts rule 37th, which states that the fund’s aim is also to help parties throughout the electoral process.” As a result, party support should not be linked to election results.”