At least 22 members of the SPLM-IO which is led by First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, including 3 state ministers, 12 state legislators, and 4 heads of independent commissions in Lakes State and 3 national lawmakers last Thursday quit the opposition and joined President Salva Kiir’s SPLM Party.
The mass exodus of the former SPLM-IO members and leaders from Lakes State was headed by Poth Madit, the state’s former deputy governor who is now an SPLM-IO nominated member of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA).
He confirmed to Radio Tamazuj at the weekend that he and other members indeed rejoined SPLM.
“The members, led by myself, Poth Madit Dut, from the National Legislative Assembly, 7 members of SPLM-IO in the state assembly, 3 state ministers, and 4 state heads of commissions including a chairperson and deputy chairperson and one member of a commission joined the SPLM Party, he explained. “We also came with the chief whip, two chairpersons of specialized committees, and deputy chairpersons in the Lakes State Assembly and we also have a former commissioner of Yirol West County and 5 members of SPLM-IO Liberation Council.”
Madit added: “We did a kind of a massive resignation from the SPLM-IO which is a manifest that indeed the SPLM-IO does not represent the aspiration of the people of South Sudan as seen from outside.”
He said some people might blame them for resigning en mass from the SPLM-IO but as insiders for the last four years, they realized that the opposition group does not represent the aspirations of the people of South Sudan.
“Even if many people believe that the SPLM Party is dead, to us it has improved and we believe there are reforms and the reforms have now started working as we heard on Thursday from the SPLM State Secretary General. We are happy about rejoining the SPLM Party because we believe it represents the aspiration of the South Sudan people,” he said.
Madit acknowledged that he would lose his sit in the national parliament to which he was nominated by the SPLM-IO.
For his part, Taban Chir, the Lakes State Minister of Cooperatives and Rural Development, cited the lack of a reform agenda in SPLM-IO and Dr. Machar’s unwillingness to take part in the upcoming general election slated for December 2024 for their leaving the opposition group.
“I can confirm that not only me, but other senior political leaders have resigned from SPLM-IO party and they joined SPLM-IG in Lakes State”, he said.
He said the SPLM-IO party does not have a political agenda.
“The reform agenda which people have been talking about is not even there and again the SPLM-IO top leader, Dr. Riek Machar, says he does not want to go for elections. However, most of us joined SPLM-IO thinking that there will be reforms we cannot accept to continue without any progress,” he stated. “The citizens in South Sudan need to elect their new leaders but we have not seen that with Dr. Riek Machar. So, we decided to come back and join the SPLM-IG (In Government) Party because it is talking about elections and that is the demand of the citizens.”
He however said he will not resign his ministerial position and will continue working until the president relieves him.
SPLM Secretary for Information in Lakes State Makur Makeny welcomed the SPLM-IO defectors back to the SPLM Party.
“Today (Thursday), we received good news from prominent leaders of SPLM-IO in Lakes State who defected to the SPLM Party citing the lack of unclear ideology in SPLM-IO,” he said. “This is a bold decision and I take this honor on behalf of the SPLM State Secretariat under the chairman of the SPLM Party in the state, Gen. Rin Tueny Mabor, to welcome our distinguished members back to the SPLM Party. This is a positive step towards implementing the unity of purpose and political stability in Lakes State and South Sudan at large.”
“The time for opposition politics should come to an end and we put focus on uniting our people and preparing them for democratic elections in December this year to end the period of the transitional government in the Republic of South Sudan,” Makeny added.
Meanwhile, Lakes State Gender Advisor Alek Malaak who is also the SPLM-IO state secretary, confirmed that some SPLM-IO members defected to the SPLM Party but that the opposition outfit is still strong on the ground.
“We in the SPLM-IO office here in Rumbek did not receive any official communication or documents about their resignation and also saw it in the media. We shall not comment about it but the SPLM-IO is still here in Lakes State and across South Sudan and we will keep working because we have not lost anything,” she commented. “As others exit, we are still here and other members are joining. There is nothing that has happened and we are still members of SPLM-IO and going forward to make reforms in this country.”
Regarding rumors that she was among the defectors, she said it was propaganda and that she is a staunch SPLM-IO member.