South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
As the timeline for elections nears, several opposition officials are hurrying to join the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement led by President Salva Kiir.
The defections have their roots in the body politic of this country. The tradition of defections started during the liberation war that started in 1983 under the leadership of the late Dr. John Garang Demabior.
The famous defections included the 1991 defection of Riek Machar and Dr.Lam Akol Ajawin and also many other senior figures of the then liberation movement (SPLA).
Currently, the wave of defections is being motivated by money and political expediency.
The coercive tools and charm offensive being deployed by the SPLM party under President Salva Kiir toward opposition members cannot be ruled out.
It seems every politician has a price and this is not at all shocking to any keen observer of political trends in the country since the outbreak of fighting in December 2013.
The parties to the 2018 revitalized peace agreement need to work with the National Elections Commission and the Political Parties Council to fix the defections.
They can start by pushing and agreeing on legislation that bars defections after five or seven year’s term once elections are conducted. This could help bring sanity to the politics.
