Members of the SPLM-IO Political Bureau in Juba, who are loyal to suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, who is battling serious charges in court, on Monday distanced themselves from a broad-based leadership committee established by President Salva Kiir to conduct dialogue on election-related issues, saying the body is not inclusive.
Last Friday, Kiir issued a presidential order establishing a broad-based leadership body to conduct dialogue on election-related issues, bringing together parties signatory to the 2018 peace deal and other stakeholders. However, the order excluded the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) faction led by Dr. Machar. The order seeks to build political consensus ahead of the country’s long-delayed elections. Kiir contends that the revitalized peace agreement provides the framework for a peaceful transition and democratic elections, underscoring the need for dialogue among political actors to ensure a stable, free, and fair electoral process.
During the formation of the body, the president referred to a meeting of the Expanded Presidency held on December 10, 2025, which reviewed the status of the transition and challenges facing the electoral roadmap and resolved that leaders of the signatory parties should address election-related grievances through dialogue.
Machar, who is under house arrest, and his co-accused, held by the National Security Service (NSS), face charges including murder, conspiracy, terrorism, treason, destruction of public property, and crimes against humanity from the Nasir incident of March 2025.
However, the SPLM-IO-Dr. Machar, in a press release extended to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, said that on 2 February 2026, its Political Bureau sat to discuss several issues including but not limited to the establishment of a broad-based leadership committee to conduct dialogue on election-related issues, unilateral removal of Hon. Angelina Teny as the Minister of Interior and her replacement with a member of SPLM (IG), and others.
“After a short deliberation, the Political Bureau resolved the following: The SPLM/A (10), as one of the main signatories to the R-ARCSS, was not consulted and, therefore, is not represented in the Committee. As such, the SPLM/A (IO) distances itself from that Committee and views it as lacking in inclusivity,” the statement reads in part. “The SPLM/A (IO) remains committed to an inclusive dialogue that would resolve the current issues which are derailing the implementation of the R-ARCSS.”
“For such a dialogue to be able to succeed in yielding the necessary results, it must be a high-level one headed by the President, Salva Kiir Mayardit, and the First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon —who must be immediately released before any steps can be taken towards the start of such a dialogue,” the statement added.
The SPLM/A-10 also condemned the unilateral removal and replacement of Hon. Angelina Teny as Minister of Interior.
The press release was signed by Hon. Eng. Joseph Malwal Dong, Focal Person of the Political Bureau, and the SPLM-IO’s Chairperson, National Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Relations, who is among the few Machar loyalists domiciled in Juba.