The chairman of the National Alliance of opposition political parties, Dr Lam Akol, says the group has petitioned the Supreme Court to stop implementation of the republican order splitting the ten states into 28.

The alliance also wants the court to declare the order as invalid.

“Our lawyer today submitted to court a petition challenging the division of the country into 28 states,” Dr Akol told Eye Radio.

“We typically ask for two things: one is to stay the execution of the order, and secondly, to declare it invalid.”

President Salva Kiir issued the order early this month, saying it would devolve power and resources to the communities.

On Tuesday, the Council of Ministers approved the order and said it would be tabled before the national assembly for further discussions.

But Dr Akol says the order lacks a legal basis and contravenes the peace agreement.

“It contravenes the provisions of the peace agreement recently signed by the president and ratified by the national legislature,” he added.

Members of the international community, including IGAD, have called for suspension of the order over concerns that it is against the peace agreement.

However, the government says the order does not affect the peace agreement.

In a statement after the order, the Minister of Information, Michael Makuei Lueth, said the SPLM in Opposition would still retain its share of power even in the new states.

Meanwhile, a group of political parties headed by Dr Martin Elia Lomoro, chairman of the South Sudan Democratic Forum, has accused the western countries of ‘trying to play administrative roles in South Sudan’.

“The Troika, EU, and other Embassies in South Sudan ought to concentrate on our bilateral and diplomatic relationship rather than have ambassadors purporting to have administrative role in South Sudan to the extent of ordering president of a sovereign UN member state to withdraw an administrative order,” Dr Lomoro said on Monday.