The Juba-based SPLM-IO faction led by interim chairperson Stephen Par Kuol is mounting pressure on President Salva Kiir to appoint loyal members of the group to vacant positions within the transitional government.
In a resolution issued at the close of a high-level leadership meeting on August 3, Par’s SPLM-IO leadership called on Kiir to immediately fill the long-vacant and allegedly “abdicated” posts with nominees submitted by the faction.
The group argued that delays in appointments not only breach the power-sharing terms outlined in the Revitalized Peace Agreement (R-ARCSS) but also risk further weakening the fragile political balance within the Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU).
“The SPLM-IO Interim Leadership calls upon H.E. the President to implement the long-overdue inclusivity by appointing its nominees to the vacant positions,” the statement read, in a direct call for recognition of Par’s authority within the opposition ranks.
The group also accused the SPLM-IG of seizing SPLM-IO executive portfolios at the state and county levels, undermining the agreed responsibility-sharing arrangements enshrined in Chapter I of the peace deal.
This push comes as Par seeks to consolidate control over the SPLM-IO in the absence of detained party chairman Dr. Riek Machar.
The leadership reiterated calls for Machar’s release or legal due process, framing it as part of the broader struggle for institutional accountability and political inclusion.
Par’s faction further urged the revitalized government to activate all dormant peace mechanisms, particularly those related to security arrangements and ceasefire monitoring under Chapter II of the agreement.
The group also condemned the aerial bombardment of opposition areas and the recent incursion by Ugandan troops in Central Equatoria, which it said violated the sovereignty of South Sudan and endangered civilians.
With tensions simmering and delays in the peace roadmap mounting, the calls for loyalist appointments signal a widening rift in South Sudan’s fragile coalition government.
The SPLM-IO faction maintains that full implementation of the R-ARCSS, including respect for its internal leadership structures, remains the only viable path to lasting peace and political stability.
