Tuor won the contest with 136 votes, while Marial received 92 votes. A third candidate, Tang Chatiem, finished with 87 votes according to media reports.
The results give Tuor the SPLM nomination to contest the parliamentary seat in the upcoming general elections scheduled for December 22, 2026.
Marial’s loss adds to the list of veteran politicians who have lost the party primaries. They include former Petroleum and Public Service Minister Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, veteran lawmaker and former SPLM chief whip Rebecca Joshua Okwaci.
Marial, a veteran and common face in South Sudan’s political scene, has held several senior government positions since the signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended more than two decades of civil war between Sudan’s government and southern rebels and paved the way for South Sudan’s independence.
He served as State Minister of International Cooperation in Sudan’s Government of National Unity before taking up several ministerial positions in the then-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan, including regional cooperation, commerce and industry, and information.
Following South Sudan’s independence in July 2011, Benjamin continued as Minister of Information and Broadcasting and government spokesperson before being appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in July 2013.
He held the foreign affairs portfolio until March 2016 and later served as a presidential adviser and government representative in peace negotiations.
In April 2021, President Salva Kiir appointed him Minister of Presidential Affairs, a position he held until November 2023, when Joseph Bangasi Bakosoro replaced him.
During his campaign launch in Juba in October, Benjamin reflected on his involvement in the liberation struggle, saying it was driven by the goal of establishing an independent country where citizens could live with dignity and access basic services.
“That I joined in the beginning based on principles and based on the fact that we must have a country of our own and that is very very important. The country where there is no tribulation, the country where our ordinary people, the living standards can be quite human, having clean water and all that. That’s the country we fought for.”
He also defended his record in public service, listing the various government positions he had held over the years.
Asked whether he intended to retire from politics, Benjamin indicated that he was not ready to leave public life.
“Yes, when I retire I will let you know,” he said.
