(SV)

The National Assembly (NA) yesterday approved Abyei referendum Act of the year 2009 after considering all the necessary amendments made by the emergency committee. Meanwhile, Misseriya MPs walked out objecting the article (24), which was passed by majority after the failure of reaching an agreement on it.

It is worth mentioning here that paragraph (1) in the controversial article (24) keeps the same language of Abyei protocol, CPA and interim constitution while paragraph (2) has been removed.

NA speaker, Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Tahir acknowledged that the said law didn't settle all the differences especially with regard to citizens who have the right to vote pointing out that the issue has been left to the commission to decide the inhabitants of Abyei as per the protocol.

"But actually the text of the article (24) removed the fears of Misseriya sons on the standards that will be followed to determine the citizens who have the right for voting,” Al-Tahir explained.

He went on saying that the NA is keen to settle this issue in a fair way and not at the expense of any tribe.

NCP leading figure, Prof. Ibrahim Ghandour, said that the law organizes the Commission work and Abyei referendum process pointing out that all the commission decisions would be adopted firstly through agreement then by majority, in case those two options failed, the chairman of the commission would have the last word.

On his part, the head of SPLM MPs bloc Yassir Arman, said that the approval of the law is a victory for both Misseriya and Dinka Ngok adding that in case that the unity option succeeded the work in Abyei would be restricted in the administrative side.

Mohammed Abdullah (Wad Abouk) one of Misseriya MPs warned the passage of the law without their approval adding that they would resist it by all the necessary means branding the law as racial.
The leader of Misseriya Tribe, Mahdi Babu Nimir, said that the approval of said law in its current shape is undermining it, considering the proposal made by Al-Dirideri Mohammed Ahmed as intrinsic and would have settled the problem if accepted.

The National Assembly also endorsed Workers’ Trade Unions Law (200) after the amendments in the draft bill.

Workers' Trade Unions, Chairman, Prof. Ibrahim Ahmed Ghadour affirmed that the endorsed law coincides with the International Labour Organization's laws, condemning the objections of some MPs who, according to him, want us to go back.