VP Hussein says opposition parties won’t be allowed to exercise political activities unless they register

JUBA, January 5^th 2023 (Sudans Post) – South Sudan Vice President for Service Cluster Hussein Abdelbaggi has said that opposition political parties will not be allowed to carry out political activities in the country unless they register with the political parties’ council.

The senior government official who is himself a senior member of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) which signed the revitalized peace agreement with the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit in September 2018 made the remarks on Sunday at the SPLM House in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state’s capital Aweil.

Abdelbaggi while calling on the state authorities to allow other political parties from carrying out activities in their respective states said any political party which has not registered with the Council of the Political Parties won’t be allowed to exercise political activities.

“The political parties that signed the revitalized peace agreement must register with the Council of Political Parties, then they can demand to be given political space,” the vice-president who is representing the SSOA in the peace presidency said.

“I call on all the authorities and officials in the country to allow other political parties to carry out their political activities, we have to stop the bitterness of the tribe as a result of previous wars,” Abdelbaggi urged.

The senior government official further went on to call on the country different political organizations “allied to militias anywhere in the country to review their engagements and break from the chains of violence to allow the country to enjoy peace.”

The comments by Abdelbaggi, a native of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, comes a few months following escalatory attacks on senior government officials from the main armed opposition SPLM-IO in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state in Aweil.

Bol Akuar, the Northern Bahr el Ghazal state minister of youth and sports and senior member of the SPLM-IO, was beaten in November during a preparatory activity for launch of the SPLM-IO party secretariat in Aweil town.

Also, two senior SPLM-IO members and government officials were arrested in August by state security operatives and were detained for days before being released without charges.

According to the Political Parties Amendment Act signed into laws just before Christmas by President Kiir provides that political parties must have at least 500 registered voters in a single state across the country to register.