By staff writer
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), the main opposition party to the Revitalized Peace Agreement and a partner in the South Sudan interim unity government has elected and endorsed two members for the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).
The two EALA MPs to be were elected on Sunday when the SPLM-IO caucus conducted a party meeting Chaired by H.E. Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon.
Office of the First Vice President disclosed to the media that the SPLM-IO high-level leadership meeting in Juba was purposely held to elect members who will represent South Sudan as member state at the EAC assembly or EALA on the SPLM-IO ticket.
The categories that voted in the election were SPLM-IO members of Political Bureau, members of Executive Council, and MPs from the Legislature, (the two houses), Transitional National Legislative Assembly, and the Council of States.
In 2017 South Sudan sent nine members to the EALA. The 9 candidates elected National Legislative Assembly from a list of nominees presented to parliament by political parties and special interest groups to serve at the Arusha-based assembly for five years.
After the elapse of those MPs tenure at the EALA, South Sudan announced another round of election for the next Country’s representative to the regional bloc assembly in Arusha Tanzania.
Among the 9 members South Sudan is entitled to send to Arusha, the ruling SPLM party takes five slots, while the main opposition party SPLM-IO is given two vacancies and the remaining two goes to the Other Political Parties (OPP) and interest groups.
The SPLM-IO in its election said it considered gender representation and thus allocated (1) seat to a female and the other to a male.
“The woman list has been won by Mrs Saadia James Sabit with (92) out of (131) votes, and the party list was won by Mr. Luke Thompson Thoan Teny with (94) out of (132) votes,” the office of the F.V.P Dr. Riek reported.
It stated that the election was conducted in a free, fair and democratic environment asserting that those are the very values, visions and missions for which their party was founded.
Dr. Riek Machar Teny, the First Vice President in the unity government, and Chairman of SPLM-IO wished good-luck to those who didn’t make it through and congratulated the newly elected members to the East African Legislative Assembly.