![Poster of President Salva Kiir Mayardit seen during 2010 Sudan elections [Photo via Centre for Security Governance]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/SPLM-627x376-1.jpg?ssl=1)
This comes after the replacement of the elected lawmakers sparked outrage among South Sudanese public with many suggesting that the ruling party does not have the right to replace them.
Speaking in an interview with the Juba-based Radio Miraya on Monday morning, SPLM spokesman Peter Lam Both said among the 170 lawmakers who were elected during the 2010 elections, only 30 of them have remained and the rest have died, incapacitated and others have rebelled against the government.
“The real members of the SPLM who were left out were 30, the rest of them died, they were replaced, some of them rebelled, they were replaced some of theme became sick, blind, deaf, they were replaced. So the real people who were actually left out were 30,” he said.
“Some members of parliament were actually caught taking guns and giving it to the opposition,” he revealed before asking: “Is that an MP you would want to keep?”
He said some of the lawmakers who were elected on the SPLM ticket during the 2010 elections have never support the SPLM agenda and said such members should not be deemed members of the SPLM.
“There is a number of MPs who have never support the SPLM agenda since they were elected in 2010. So these are not your members, you know that when they go to the assembly they are going to cross and go to other political parties,” he said.
He further added that the ruling faction ” has the right to leave all the elected MPs out if it had wanted to, but we had wanted to give them the priority to see if they have been performing in the interest of the SPLM and the interest of the people of South Sudan, so there is nothing called elected MP after this once the assembly was dissolved on May 8th. It means that there is no more election as criteria for somebody to come back.”
