The UPD Zigamibanga party organized a national congress to elect the new chairman, two years after the death of the leader of this party Zedi Feruzi. These elections led to conflicts between the members of this party.
Abdoul Kassim, new leader of UPD Zigamibanga; “The party’s national congress of 18 March 2017 was a consequence of the Supreme Court’s decision following the results of the party congress held on 22 February 2015.”
Abdoul Kassim, the new UPD Zigamibanga chairman says the party national congress of 18 March 2017 was a consequence of the Supreme Court’s decision following the results of the party congress held on 22 February 2015, which did not satisfy a large number of UPD Zigamibanga members. For him, that congress was held with a number of irregularities.
“I filed a complaint to the Supreme Court to protest against the results of the so-called congress because the organizers had violated the internal regulations of the party and the national law governing political parties in Burundi. Thus, on 19 January 2017, I appeared in the Supreme Court. At the beginning of March 2017, the same court issued a ruling invalidating the results of the 2015 congress,” says Kassim.
He also says the results of this congress announced the participation of UPD Zigamibanga in the political coalition and the election of Marina Barampama as the Secretary General as well as the amendment of the party’s statutes.
“Participants in the congress should not exceed 653 people but in the minutes taken, 887 people attended the congress. Some of the participants in this congress had no right to attend it. For all these irregularities, the court decided to invalidate the results of the congress,” says Kassim.
He also says the party elected new leaders on 18 March because those who resulted from the national congress held on 22 February 2015 were elected in violation of the regulations governing political parties in Burundi. After the death of Zedi Feruzi, Chairman of UPD Zigamibanga on 23 May 2015, Marina Barampama was appointed Acting Chairperson.
The new president is manipulated by the current regime to dissolve UPD Zigamibanga
Manina Barampama, who is supposed to be the leader of UPD Zigamibanga, says Abdoul Kassim does not have the prerogatives to convene the party congress because he is not part of the executive members of the party.
She accuses him of being manipulated by the current regime to cause trouble within the party. Barampama accuses the government of muzzling this party. “The declaration of reunification, the Memorandum of Understanding and the national congress held on 22 February 2015 resulted in the effective reunification of the UPD Zigamibanga party. The Minister of Home Affairs in time has taken note of the resolutions and recommendations resulting from this congress, “says Barampama. For her, the present government could not allow this reunification; the reason why Zedi Feruzi, the party leader, was assassinated on 7 September 2015, the spokesman for the party Patrice Gahungu murdered and other members of the party imprisoned while others were forced into exile.
Iwacu tried to contact the spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs but to no avail.
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