President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Friday appointed 28 members of the Other Political Parties (OPP) to the Revitalized Transitional National Legislative Assembly (R-TNLA).

The appointments were announced by the official South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC). 

Early August, the president swore in members of the national parliament and Council of States without candidates from the OPP after he nullified the appointment of the disputed candidates.

Leaders of the OPP, a coalition of parties who signed the 2018 peace deal, had accused the national Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Peter Mayen Majongdit, a leader in the coalition, of unilaterally drafting a list of candidates without consultation and presenting it to the president for appointment. However, after several meetings, the coalition leaders agreed to equally distribute the 30 legislative seats allotted by the peace deal.

Majongdit and 27 others were appointed to the national assembly, and eight other members were appointed to the Council of States. 

According to the peace accord, the R-TNLA shall be comprised of 550 members and the Council of States shall have 100 members. As of now, the constitution of the national parliament remains incomplete.

The decree did not indicate when the new appointees will be sworn in.

In a different decree, President Kiir fired Simon Anasios Laku, the undersecretary of defense in the ministry of defense and veteran affairs,  and replacing him with Chol Biar Ngang.   

Kiir also relieved the undersecretary of veteran affairs in the ministry of veteran affairs Alosios Emor  Ojetuk and replaced him with Biar Atem Ajak.

The decrees went into effect on Friday, 17 September 2021.