South Sudan’s lead opposition party changes name

January 8, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s main non armed opposition faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement for Democratic Change (SPLM-DC) led by Lam Akol has announced changing the name by scrapping the historical SPLM.

Akol said his party decided to remove the SPLM and shortened the name as Democratic Change (DC) party simply because they were no longer Sudanese, but South Sudanese.

“We have changed our name because we are no longer Sudanese. We are South Sudanese,” said Akol on Friday.

Akol formed the party after breaking away from the main stream SPLM party in 2009. He contested for the presidency of the government of the then Southern Sudan (GoSS) in 2010 general elections but lost with a wide margin – generating less than 7% of votes against president Salva Kiir of the SPLM.

DC is not included in the ongoing reunification process between the other three factions of SPLM in government led by president Kiir, SPLM in opposition led by former vice president, Riek Machar, and SPLM former detainees led by Pagan Amum.

SPLM was formed in 1983 by late John Garang as a rebel movement. In 2005, the SPLM signed a comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) with Khartoum’s government, ending 21 years of conflict.

The 2005 peace deal gave historical movement powers to govern Southern Sudan till separation following a referendum in 2011.

SPLM faction, under the leadership of president Kiir, has majority of members in parliament and the SPLM-DC, now DC, comes second with six lawmakers in the national assembly.

However, following the signing of a peace agreement in August 2015 between the warring parties, the SPLM-IO led by Machar will become the second largest group in parliament.

(ST)