IO to convene national conference next week amid defections

JUBA – South Sudan’s main armed opposition group, SPLM-IO, is set to convene a national conference next week to discuss the revitalized peace agreement and to mandate a new interim party leadership, according to a senior opposition official.

This comes a day after the group’s Secretary-General Tingo Peter, resigned, accusing the main armed opposition group’s leader and South Sudan First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, of single-handedly running the group.

Speaking to Sudans Post this morning, a senior opposition official who refused not to be named, said the SPLM-IO will meet between November 23, and November 27, to deliberate on the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement and the party leadership.

“The SPLM/SPLA (IO) will have a national conference next week, beginning on 23 November to 27 November and the agendas will include the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement,” the senior opposition official said.

“The movement will convene this meeting purposely to also restructure the party leadership because a lot of members have either resigned, or defected. So, it will be use to also fill those gabs that are making power vacuum within the party,” the group said.

The opposition official further downplayed the significance of the defection of the group’s Secretary-General who said yesterday that Machar has been running the armed opposition movement without taking others’ opinion within the group.