SPLM-IO leader threatens to detain voter registration officials in opposition-held areas

JUBA – The acting chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), Nathaniel Pierino, has threatened to detain voter registration officials who enter areas under the group’s control following the National Elections Commission’s announcement that elections will take place later this year.

In a statement issued on Monday, Pierino said the announcement confirmed the SPLM-IO’s longstanding position that the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) had effectively collapsed.

“This is just confirming what we have been saying all along, that the R-ARCSS is broken and abrogated,” he said.

The warning came days after the National Elections Commission unveiled a timetable for key electoral activities, including voter registration, despite ongoing political and security tensions across the country.

Pierino argued that proceeding with elections under the current circumstances would amount to abandoning the peace process rather than implementing it.

“Holding elections to abrogate the peace process for South Sudan is pure politics, not governance. It is a dangerous escalation and shall throw the country into more chaos,” he said.

He warned that voter registration officials and election campaigners would not be allowed to operate in areas controlled by the SPLA-IO.

“Anyone coming to register voters and campaign in territories controlled by the mighty SPLA-IO, you will be a prisoner of war, at worst, dead. Be reminded, the country is at war,” he said.

The opposition official accused the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) of undermining the peace agreement by attacking SPLA-IO cantonment and training sites established under the security arrangements provisions of the R-ARCSS.

“The SSPDF attacked the cantonments and training centers that were meant for security arrangements of the R-ARCSS,” he said.

Pierino further claimed that clashes between government and opposition forces remain ongoing in several parts of the country.

“We have been fighting back and forth, with each side gaining and losing territories. In all these, we are in a very comfortable position and have the upper hand,” he said.

His remarks come amid growing uncertainty over the future of South Sudan’s transitional process following the detention of First Vice President and SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar and renewed fighting between forces loyal to the government and the opposition in several parts of the country.

The SPLM-IO has repeatedly argued that conditions necessary for credible elections, including the implementation of security arrangements and the completion of key provisions of the peace agreement, have not been met.

Pierino said the movement was awaiting the outcome of ongoing regional efforts to address the political crisis, including the recent visit of an African Union special envoy to Juba.

“As we await the final outcome of the visit of the AU Special Envoy to Juba, there will be a State of the Nation Address to clarify more on the lies of the SPLM-IG and the SSPDF,” he said.

The National Elections Commission has not publicly responded to Pierino’s remarks.