The SPLM-IO also demands the return of the Defense portfolio, which has passed to the competence of the Government
March 5 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO) has demanded the President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, to reverse the dismissal of the Defense and Interior Ministers and return the Defense portfolio to him after the announcement made on Saturday by the president, still without explanation.
The SPLM-IO of the country’s vice president and Kiir’s political rival, Riek Machar, convened an emergency meeting this Saturday to assess what happened, also taking into account that the dismissed Defense Minister, Angelina Teny, is Machar’s wife.
Kiir has also handed over the Interior portfolio to the opposition but has taken away the Ministry of Defense.
South Sudan has a unity government that came into being after the materialization of the peace agreement signed by President Kiir and Machar. The South Sudanese Presidency announced in January 2020 that the signatory parties to the peace agreement had agreed to once again extend the transition period, this time until 2023, to allow room for the application of the clauses of the pact, amid petitions international organizations to speed up the process.
Be that as it may, the SPML-IO considers the decision as a flagrant violation of the peace agreements that make up the current government, according to the rejection text collected by the ‘Sudan Post’.
“The exchange of ministries also violates the provision of article 1.12.1 of the Agreement that obliges the Parties to agree on the assignment and selection of ministerial portfolios,” the statement added.
“In light of these violations, the Political Bureau of the SPLM-IO recalls that the agreements are based on the premise of collegiate collaboration in decision-making and continuous consultation within the Presidency, between the President, the First Vice President and the four Vice Presidents, to ensure effective governance during the Transition Period,” the statement added.
