Mamer Abraham
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) has dismissed allegations by SPLM/ that it is a registered political party.
Puok Both Baluang, Director for Information and Public Relations and Acting Press Secretary in the office of the First Vice President told the City Review in an exclusive interview that SPLM/A-IO will only be considered as a political party after the ongoing unification of unified forces is completed.
Puok termed the claims that the decision by SPLM Political Bureau to kick Riek Machar out of the party, was “mischief” and deception to the public.
“It’s worth mentioning that the SPLM-IO is not a political party. We are not a registered party in South Sudan. So, the claims that are narrated by the SPLM (IG) that we have formed and created our own party, that is a mischief and a way not to speak the obvious and it is to deceive the public,” Puok stated.
He stressed that SPLM/A-IO had a political wing which does not apply to any political party anywhere in the world.
“You know, we [IO] did not defect. It was a split within the SPLM party. Some SPLM remained in Juba, some went out. So, there is no point that all these factions are wings of the SPLM as SPLM-IG put it. They are factions of one SPLM,” he added.
But SPLM insists that SPLM-IO is a legitimate party recognised as such by the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
“In South Sudan, there are only 14 registered political parties with the political parties’ council. However, the R-ARCSS has given legitimacy to more than 52 political parties now operating in Juba,” Lam argued.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
For More News And Analysis About South-Sudan Follow Africa-Press
