Sudan's new constitution will come into effect on July 9 and on the same day a new government of national unity is expected to be sworn in, officials said here Tuesday.

Sudan's National Assembly Speaker Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Tahir announced that the parliament will on Wednesday approve the draft interim constitution which was drafted after two months of negotiations between the Khartoum government, southern rebels and other political parties, and hand it over to President Omar Hassan Ahmed Al-Bashir, a move that will set the stage for dissolution of parliament.

Al-Tahir said the first Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha would address the historic parliamentary session.

The parliament which currently has a total of 330 legislators will be expanded to create room for 100 others from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) and other political parties and this would be announced immediately after Saturday's swearing-in ceremony.

"After the adoption of the new constitution, Sudan's parliament will stand dissolved and new members of parliament would be appointed after Saturday's swearing-in ceremony," said an official who sought anonymity.

He said anxiety has gripped some lawmakers including the cabinet ministers who are going to be dropped in the forthcoming restructure.

But Humanitarian Affairs Minister Mohammed Mahmoud Hamid played down the differences, saying the issue was decided long time ago and can't stall the implementation of the peace agreement.

"After the swearing in on Saturday, the ministers will have one month to prepare for the handing over ceremony. The issue was decided long time and I don't think anything would happen to stop implementation of peace agreement," Hamid said.

A vote on the interim charter was expected shortly before a government of national unity takes office on July 9, with Omar Al- Bashir continuing as president and Ali Osman Mohammed Taha, the lead negotiator in peace talks with the southern rebels, and former rebel John Garang, as vice presidents.

The assembly last Sunday passed a recommendation by the chairman of the formulation committee, Ismail al-Haj Musa, to approve the draft interim constitution unanimously.

In his address last Thursday, President Al-Bashir said the new interim constitution would take effect on Saturday after the swearing in of former southern rebel leader, John Garang.

"July 9 will see the signing of the constitution that will govern the transitional period, as well as the oath of allegiance to the presidency of the republic," Al-Bashir told over 200,00 Sudanese gathered at the Green Square in central Khartoum to mark the 16th anniversary of the coup that brought him to power.

SPLM/A spokesman Yasir Arman says according to the draft constitution, Islamic law would be the source of legislation applied in the northern states, while in the south local customs and traditions and respect for the country's diversity would inform laws.

According to the constitution, the president would be no longer a Muslim, but must be a Sudanese, at least 40 years old, literate and free of a criminal record.

"It is the first Sudanese charter to lay out freedoms of religion and expression as human rights. Every Sudanese will be treated equally irrespective of his/her religion," Arman told Xinhua.

He says women as well as men would be able to pass on Sudanese nationality to their children, according to the interim constitution.

According to the new constitution, the president and first vice president can decide to initiate any state of emergency, which would need parliamentary approval.

Lawmakers are expected to adopt the constitution unanimously, as they did the peace deal struck in January that ended a two- decade war between government troops and Garang's forces.

The constitution, like the peace deal that paved its way, has been cause for hope for the Sudanese who have suffered for decades due to civil war.

It provides for a coalition government, wealth and power sharing and democratic elections within three years.

The south will also have a referendum on secession after six years.

However, the north-south deal signed in January did not cover a separate revolt in western Darfur or a smaller conflict in the impoverished east, which has recently escalated with rebel attacks on government forces.

Source: Xinhua