The PDCI-RDA held this Thursday, March 30, its seventh extraordinary congress in Abidjan. Several figures from Ivorian political life were present: a strong delegation from the RHDP, the former first lady Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, Charles Blé Goudé, as well as many executives from the PPA-CI.
With our correspondent in Abidjan, Bineta Diagne
Nearly 2,000 activists gathered under a marquee set up for the occasion. Objective of this congress: to update certain statutes of the PDCI-RDA and in particular to modify article 54 which concerns the size of the political office. The goal is to be able to integrate more activists into this body. ” It was time for the PDCI to comply with these texts in order to be able to move forward since we are on the eve of 2025, very important for the PDCI-RDA which wants to gain state power. “, estimates Ali Bakayoko, vice-president of the party.
To achieve this, the militants of the party must remain united, underlines Henri Konan Bédié, the president of the PDCI-RDA: “ We absolutely need unity and cohesion within ourselves. All skills will be used for the smooth running of our party to implement a real process of innovation that allows us to ensure the victory of our party in local elections to guarantee our victory in 2025. »
This message has a certain resonance with the delegates who came in large numbers, like Colonel Amani Okah, a member of the political bureau. “ There are many rumors to the left, to the right, that there are camps and this calls us to strengthen our cohesion he says.
The opportunity also for Henri Konan Bédié to reiterate his call for dialogue, as in Yamoussoukro on February 8th.
It is a question of mobilizing all our forces to transcend ethnic divisions, ensure balance between regions and create equitably shared wealth. I believe in reconciliation as a determining factor in accelerating the sustainable development of Côte d’Ivoire in peace.
Next major event: the 13th ordinary congress will take place by June. Henri Konan Bédié was unanimously designated as the sole candidate for the leadership of the party.
A “rebirth party” for Gbagbo’s party
The African Peoples’ Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PPA-CI), an opposition party created by Laurent Gbagbo in October 2021, is organizing a “renaissance party” this Friday in the town of Yopougon. The organizers are hoping for a large crowd, particularly from the regions and Abidjan. A vast meeting during which the former Ivorian president will address all of his activists. For the PPA-CI, it is a ” activist party », intended to celebrate, the day when the ICC definitively acquitted Laurent Gbagbo, in his trial for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
This “party” was designed in two stages: a meeting in Yopougon on Friday and an exchange between the president of the party and young people at the Palais de la Culture in Abidjan on Saturday. As a prelude to these meetings, several meetings were organized in the regions: entitled “Gbagbo listens to you”, these meetings aim to collect the expectations of young people. ” Laurent Gbagbo wants to show young people what the PPA-CI offers them “, indicates Stéphane Kipré, the vice-president of this party. Because the whole challenge for the PPA-CI is to show that ” the party is mobilized around its members “, continues this official.
This meeting is organized in a tense political context, with in particular the sentencing of 26 activists to two years in prison, suspended for disturbing public order. In recent weeks, Justin Koné Katinan, the spokesperson for the PPA-CI, repeatedly denounced a ” instrumentalization of justice for political purposes in his words, as well as obstacles to the freedom of movement of certain party activists, prevented from organizing meetings.
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