South Sudan’s main opposition group SPLM-IO distanced itself from a decision taken by the presidency on the allocation of the country’s 10 states.
In a statement issued on Thursday, President Salva Kiir said they agreed on the allocation of states during a meeting attended by all his deputies, including SPLM-IO leader and first vice president Riek Machar.
The statement said the presidency agreed to allocate Central Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, Lakes, Warrap, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and Unity states to the incumbent government, while Jonglei, Western Bahr el Ghazal, and Western Equatorial states were allocated to the SPLM-IO.
It added that Upper Nile State has been allocated to the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA).
However, Dr. Riek Machar said the decision to allocate the 10 states among the parties to the peace deal is not inclusive.
"The allocation of the states as came in the statement is that of the president and not a decision taken by consensus," Machar said in his statement on Thursday.
He added, "It doesn't put into consideration the relative prominence of each party has in each of the respective state or county."
Machar called on R-JMEC, a body tasked with overseeing the implementation of the September 2018 peace deal, to resolve the matter.
The disagreement over state allocations has been delaying the establishment of state and county governments.