The PDCI-RDA held its seventh extraordinary congress in Abidjan on Thursday, March 30. Several figures of Ivorian political life were present: a strong delegation of the RHDP, the former first lady...

Côte d'Ivoire: a congress of Henri Konan Bédié's PDCI-RDA to expand the political bureau

Former Ivorian President Henri Konan Bédié on September 12, 2020 in Yamoussoukro. AP - Diomande Ble Blonde

Text by: RFI Follow

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With our correspondent in Abidjan, Bineta Diagne

Nearly 2,000 activists gathered under a tent set up for the occasion. The objective of this congress was to update certain statutes of the PDCI-RDA and in particular to modify article 54 which concerns the size of the political bureau. The goal is to be able to integrate more activists into this body. "It was time for the PDCI to comply with these texts to be able to move forward since we are on the eve of 2025, very important for the PDCI-RDA which wants to access state power," said Ali Bakayoko, vice-president of the party.

To achieve this, party activists must remain united, stresses Henri Konan Bédié, 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 innovation process that allows us to ensure the victory of our party in the local elections to guarantee our victory in 2025.

This message has a certain resonance with the many congressmen who came, such as Colonel Amani Okah, a member of the political bureau. "There are a lot of rumours on the left, on the right, that there are camps and this calls for us to strengthen our cohesion," he said.

It was also an opportunity for Henri Konan Bédié to reiterate his call for dialogue, as in Yamoussoukro on February 8.

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 Côte d'Ivoire's sustainable development in peace.

Henri Konan Bédié

According to Henri Konan Bédié, the 13th ordinary congress of the party will take place "by June". During this meeting, the activists will elect the president of the party.

A "celebration of rebirth" for Gbagbo's party

The Party of African Peoples of Côte d'Ivoire (PPA-CI), an opposition party created by Laurent Gbagbo in October 2021, is organizing this Friday, a "festival of rebirth" in the commune of Yopougon. The organizers hope for a large crowd, especially from the regions and Abidjan. A vast meeting during which the former Ivorian president will address all his activists. For the PPA-CI, it is a "militant celebration", intended to celebrate, the day when the ICC finally acquitted Laurent Gbagbo, in his trial for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

This "party" was conceived in two stages: a meeting in Yopougon this Friday and an exchange between the president of the party and young people at the Palace of Culture in Abidjan on Saturday. As a prelude to these meetings, several meetings were organized in the regions: entitled "Gbagbo t'écoute", these meetings aim to collect the expectations of young people. "Laurent Gbagbo wants to show young people what the PPA-CI offers them," said Stéphane Kipré, the party's vice-president. Because the 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, including the sentencing of 26 activists to two years in prison suspended for disturbing public order. In recent weeks, Justin Koné Katinan, the spokesman of the PPA-CI, has repeatedly denounced an "instrumentalization of justice for political purposes" in his words, as well as obstacles to the freedom of movement of some party activists, prevented from organizing meetings.

Côte d'Ivoire: a congress of Henri Konan Bédié's PDCI-RDA to expand the political bureau

Côte d'Ivoire: a congress of Henri Konan Bédié's PDCI-RDA to expand the political bureau

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