South Sudan opposition party dismisses embattled chairman
By Simon Deng
South Sudan’s opposition party, the People’s Liberal Party has dismissed its leader Peter Mayen Majongdit accusing him violating the party’s constitution.
Majondit who is also the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs has been embroiled in disputes with some of the opposition parties within the OPP coalition that also signed the 2018 revitalized peace deal in Ethiopia.
About 6 parties in the OPP this week protested over the list of MPs endorsed by Majongdit to join the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) after it was reconstituted by President SalvaKiir.
They accused Majongdit of not consulting widely with them over appointees to the TNLA. This led to President Kiir to withhold appointment of MPs from OPP.
Majongdit has been replaced with Deng Ayok Deng who will serve as the interim chairperson for PLP.
“As a party (PLP) it has come to our knowledge that Peter Mayen Majongdit who is the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs representing Other Political Parties (OPP) has become a liability to the integrity and the image of PLP,” Deng said after he was appointed the new party leader on Friday.
Abraham Bung kuac Alic, the Interim Chairman for the Umbrella of Political Parties said that the umbrella no longer recognizes Majongdit as a result of the dismissal.
“The PLP have withdrawn their membership and we as the umbrella of political parties have no way to honor him, Majongdit is no longer with us,” Alic said.
“He is not representing any political party in the umbrella of political parties, we formed political parties for the people of South Sudan with the aim of fostering good governance and development,” he said.
Albino Akol Atak, OPP spokesman said that the dismissal of Majongdit is in the interest of speeding up the implementation of the 2018 revitalized peace deal.
He revealed that Majongdit’s dismissal resulted from petitions from six parties in OPP which endorsed his dismissal.
Majongdit risks losing his ministerial position since he is no longer a member of both PLP and OPP.
