SPLM, SSOA endorse Stephen Par Kuol as SPLM-IO leader

JUBA — South Sudan’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) faction and the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) have endorsed Stephen Par Kuol, the country’s peacebuilding minister, as the interim leader of the SPLM-IO replacing the detained First Vice President Riek Machar, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Par, who had been suspended by the SPLM-IO last April following accusations of collaboration with the SPLM party to obstruct the implementation of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, now heads a breakaway faction asserting interim leadership of the main armed opposition group.

His endorsement follows increasing tensions involving the SPLM-IO, the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), and allied Nuer militias known as the White Army in most parts of Upper Nile and Jonglei states.

The endorsement occurred during a Thursday meeting of the high-level standing committee on peace implementation in Juba, chaired by senior SPLM figure and presidential advisor Kuol Manyang Juuk at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, sources said.

Government officials who spoke to Sudans Post on condition of anonymity confirmed that the meeting included representatives from the SPLM, SSOA, and Par’s suspended SPLM-IO faction.

“The meeting took place on Thursday, and given that the SPLM and SSOA constituted the majority, a resolution was reached to recognize Stephen Par Kuol’s faction as the legitimate SPLM-IO leadership to ensure the continuation of peace implementation,” one official stated.

The source further indicated that Kuol Manyang is expected to formally recommend to President Salva Kiir that Par be appointed to the position of First Vice President, succeeding Machar.

When contacted by Sudans Post, SPLM-IO officials declined immediate comment, stating they would issue a response only after receiving official communication from the SPLM regarding the proposed leadership change.

This development unfolds amid increasing regional and international pressure on South Sudan’s leaders to reaffirm their commitment to the peace process.

The African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and Western partners, spearheaded by the United States, have been urging President Kiir to release Machar and uphold the terms of the revitalized peace deal signed in 2018.