The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) broke silence over the ongoing political party registrations, saying it is not an illegal political entity but will register with the Political Parties Council “at the appropriate time.”

Amidst speculations that the party had run-ins with the registrar and had been blocked from acquiring a certificate over the political party name, the leadership of the main opposition outfit sought to put things clear, affirming its fidelity to the process but not in a rush.  

The Deputy Chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition, Oyet Nathaniel, confirmed that the party is not yet registered, but they are not in a hurry to knock on the registrar’s doors.

However, Oyet did not reveal why it was taking so long for them to register their party. But he argued that the SPLM-IO is a constitutional party and is not an illegal outfit, as many think and speculate.

“We are a constitutional party. We are under the transitional constitution of the Republic of South Sudan. We are not illegal,” Oyet argued.

 “We signed the agreement together with SPLM-IG and we are recorded in the agreement as signatories and also in the constitution, which incorporates the agreement, sharing power with other parties,” he noted

Oyet continued, “There is no illegal vacuum with SPLM-IO. “There is no pressure (to register) whatsoever.”

Last month, South Sudan’s Political Parties Council (PPC) chairperson, James Akol Dhiak, urged unregistered parties to expedite the process of their participation in the general elections ahead of the anticipated 2024 election.

He emphasised that only political parties with a minimum of 500 members per state or administrative area would be eligible for registration.

Akol also advised political parties to adhere to the registration requirements, which will be open until June 2024, assuring that the institutions are in place to monitor the registration process.

Apart from these requirements, the SPLM-IO is also facing a potential setback over the abbreviation “SPLM,” which, according to the ruling party, remains its reserve.

On February 9, 2023, the SPLM Secretary for Political Affairs and Mobilisation, Santo Malek, sent a cleverly packaged warning to the SPLM-IO and other parties using the abbreviation “SPLM” that the ruling party had already deposited its registration with the Political Parties Council using the same name, and no other party would be allowed to use the same.

“Election is coming; the government of National Unity has formed a Political Parties Council to register parties, and here SPLM will have this name alone. Everyone who wanted to connect his party name with the SPLM name should forget,” he said.

“The registration has started, and other political parties are requested to either register or leave SPLM alone to go ahead with the election,” he further warned.

However, the SPLM-IO deputy party boss never explained whether they would ditch the “SPLM” acronym when registering the new party.