Kiir's extra-ordinary SPLM convention postponed to January
The SPLM convention scheduled to take place on the 12 of December 2015 has been postponed to a later date in 2016 due to "technical problems."
Bol Makueng Youl, SPLM secretary for information culture and communication, said Friday the convention will take place from 7-10 January 2016 at Nyakuon Cultural Center.
"We have made adequate preparations, and we will be dispatching the letters for invitations to the members of the convention and also to the friends and also observers" he explained.
The senior party member claimed the SPLM convention was delayed because they couldn’t print the constitution and manifesto. He added that they also need to prepare for transportation of some delegate who will be coming from abroad and the states.
"We are going to pass our constitution and manifesto, for any lingering ideas I would like to assure the people of South Sudan that what happened in 2013 is not going to happen again" he said.
The agenda is the same and is about the passing of the constitution and manifesto, he said.
Bol assured citizens that what happened in 2013 will not happen again within the party leadership, referring to the heated convention which took place just before the outbreak of ethnic massacres and civil war.
He said invitations to the January convention will be sent to participants who are required to be in Juba by 6 January 2016.
Arusha agreement’s fate
Bol claimed that the Arusha agreement on the reunification of the warring SPLM factions has been implemented and incorporated. He added that the SPLM Secretary-General Pagan amum was reinstated officially.
When asked about the status of senior SPLM-IO members who are still in abroad, Makueng said: “for us when somebody doesn’t come to the class, the lessons do not stop because a student is not attending that class."
Makueng pointed out that a preparatory and reception committee was set up to receive the armed opposition members.
"So we have no any expectation that someone is going to abstain from these because everything has been adequately addressed from Arusha to IGAD and our work here," he said.
Related:
Upcoming SPLM meeting on same dates and at same venue as 2013 crisis meetings (9 Dec.)