JUBA – Top leadership of the South Sudan National Movement for Change has invalidated the result of last month’s contentious chairmanship elections and opted for Clement Juma Mbugoniwia as their interim chairperson.
On 30th September, Central Equatoria State Minister of Local Government and Law Enforcement, Moro Isaac Genesio, was elected as the next chair of South Sudan National Movement for Change (SSNMC) after the resignation of Joseph Bakosoro in July.
Bakasoro abandoned the group of which he was a founding member of South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) led by Josephine Joseph Lagu, South Sudan’s National Minister of Agriculture and Food Security before joining the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement led by President Salva Kiir Mayardit in July.
The nullification of elections came following an emergency meeting conducted in Juba on Monday attended by founders, leaders and members of SSNMC in Diasporas.
“We confirmed Clement Juma Mbugoniwia as the interim chairperson with immediate effect to lead the SSNMC with full mandate to implement the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), 2018 in letter and spirit and all the party activities,” said a statement issued on Monday in Juba.
The group claimed that the new chairman, Juma, is capable of maintaining an effective and cordial relationship with the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) fraternity and all other peace partners.
“SSNMC is committed to its constitution, the rule of law, good governance and the unity of the party. Therefore, we remain seized of the same,” it added.