By Yiep Joseph
President Salva Kiir Mayardit has conveyed a meeting with the Interim Leadership of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition.
According to the statement obtained from the Presidential press unit, SPLM-IO Interim Chairman Ambassador Stephen Par Kuol and the team visited the president on Tuesday.
Kiir’s office revealed that the meeting was centered on peace, security, and governance, as well as the overall implementation of the peace agreement.
According to the statement, the president reaffirmed commitment toward peace implementation.
“President Salva Kiir Mayardit has reiterated his administration’s commitment to restoring peace, security, and stability across the country,” the statement partly read.
According to the statement, Ambassador Par revealed that their meeting with the president was around basic ways to expedite the implementation of the peace agreement.
“In a media briefing, Par said their meeting with the President focused on peace, security, and governance, including the overall implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement, touching on the constitutional making process and the upcoming elections,” the statement partly read.
Early this year South Sudan’s Minister of Peace-Building Stephen Par Kuol announced that he had assumed the role of interim chairman of the main armed opposition, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO).
His declaration comes less than a month after the SPLM-IO’s leader, First Vice President Riek Machar, was placed under house arrest by President Salva Kiir Mayardit following heightened tensions.
However, some of the SPLM/A-IO leaders rejected the interim leadership of Stephen Par Kuol and Lasuba Wango, stating they only recognize Dr. Riek Machar and Oyet Nathaniel as the legitimate leaders of the party, a signatory to the 2018 peace deal.
In May this year, the High-Level Standing Committee for the 2018 Peace Agreement approved the interim SPLM-IO leadership under Peacebuilding Minister Stephen Par Kuol and authorized him to nominate his appointees for government positions.
The recognition followed a meeting of representatives of the peace parties in Juba.