By William Madouk
Thirteen political parties have gained full registration endorsement from the Political Parties Council (PPC) and are now recognized as eligible to take part in elections.
Chairperson of the Political Parties’ Council, James Akol Zakayo, told journalists on Thursday that the number of officially registered political parties has now increased to 27.
“So far, the number has increased now to 27 parties; I added 13 parties. So, the entire number of parties has grown now to 27 political parties in South Sudan,” Zakayo said at a sideline interview during the 35th R-JMEC monthly meeting.
“They have paid the prescribed fees; there are procedures you go through when paying fees until you reach the end,” he added.
These include the United Democratic Party (UDP), the Federal Democratic Party (FDC), the United Democratic Front (UDF), the Communist Party of South Sudan (CPSS), and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
Others are the South Sudan African Party (SSANU), the Generation Party (GP), the National Democratic Front (NDF), the Republican Party of South Sudan (RPSS), the Popular Congress Party (PCP), the South Sudan Generation Party (SSGP), and the Akut Bam Party (ABP).
Akol urged the unregistered political parties to first obtain registration certificates before exercising their political rights.
Recently, the PPC held its ground to affirm the validity of its controversial registration fees capped at $50,000 that had been challenged by the minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Ruben Madol.
On Tuesday this week, Justice Madol faulted the Political Parties Council for capping a registration fee for political parties without using the right legal channel.
This came after around 14 political parties wrote letter of “intent to sue” the PPC over what they term exorbitant registration fee through an advocate, Gabriel Kuot, who served a petition to Madol asking him to have fees trashed.
In response to the political parties’ outcry, Madol stated in a statement that the exorbitant fee is not in line with the agreement, especially when the acts are yet to be amended.
According to him, the decision was based on political parties’ council regulations from 2015 and nothing else, as the law does not apply.
In a quick rejoinder, the Chairperson of the Political Parties’ Council, James Akol Zakayo, told journalists that PPC has yet to receive official communication from the Ministry of Justice.
“But if there are misunderstandings between the two institutions, they can be addressed between the two institutions. We shall seek an opportunity to realign in that matter,” Zakayo told journalists on Thursday.
He lamented that the political parties’ registration fees, which amount to $50,000, were not a one-man decision but a regulation passed by the council on January 23, 2024.
“We shall sit with the Ministry of Justice and try to figure out whether there was a misunderstanding, and maybe we shall realign with the Ministry of Justice. But we’re not going to change what is in the regulation” he added.