Guinea: rivalry within the UFDG over the future presidency of the main opposition party
In Guinea, the UFDG, the main opposition party, is at the center of a rivalry between its president and the spokesperson for the transitional government. While the current leader of the party, Cellou Dalein Diallo, is in exile, Minister Ousmane Gaoual Diallo, excluded from the party following his entry into government, no longer hides his ambitions, namely the presidency of the UFDG in a congress which should be held soon.
Ousmane Gaoual Diallo, who joined the transitional government in Guinea, is aiming for the presidency of the UGDG, the main opposition party. (Illustrative photo) © Pauline Zidi / RFI
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The date of the UFDG congress has not yet been set but already, within the party, activists and executives seem divided on the question of the candidacy of the minister,
de facto
favorable to the junta of the CNRD.
For months Ousmane Gaoual Diallo has been criticizing the leadership of the UFDG, accusing it of sowing instability by refusing any dialogue with the transitional authorities and of fraudulently maintaining Cellou Dalein Diallo at the head of the party, by preventing holding a congress!
For management, internal affairs no longer concern the minister, excluded since June 2022. The vice-president, Fodé Oussou Fofana, rejects his accusations: “
In 2010, we were going to elections. In 2015, we held a conference. In 2020, there was the third term of Mr. Alpha Condé with this Covid problem. I say it again, we are interested in the UFDG because it is the largest party in
Guinea
. But there are political parties which have never held a
congress since they were created. Why don't we talk about it?
»
Exclusion contested internally
Former UFDG communications coordinator, Minister Gaoual, who contests his exclusion, has been able to build a loyal base within the party, to the point that certain executives anonymously approve of his right to claim the presidency.
Cellou Dalein Diallo has been at the head of the party for 17 years. Unlike the vice-president, the deputy secretary general, Mamadou Barry, told RFI that the last real congress dates back to 2009 and that it was rather conventions that supported Cellou Dalein.
Weaken the UFDG?
The leadership also does not rule out the hypothesis that the government spokesperson is remotely controlled by the CNRD junta to weaken the party.
The deputy secretary general specifies that Cellou Dalein Diallo remains the most popular with activists, even if he deplores that the prolonged absence of the leader paralyzes the party politically.
Also read: Guinea: government spokesperson assures that a coup attempt “was nipped in the bud”
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