Burundi’s main opposition party, the National Council for Freedom (CNL) of Agathon Rwasa, was suspended by the authorities for reasons of “irregularities” with the party’s statutes, which were recorded during its last two congresses.
These two moments were marked by the ousting from the political office of eight executives opposed to the party leader. The officials sidelined had seized the Minister of the Interior, Martin Niteretse, who had denounced, at the end of May, the initiatives taken against them.
The Minister sent a letter to Agathon Rwasa, made public on Tuesday, in which he underlined that “all activities organized by the bodies irregularly set up are suspended across the country”, and that “only meetings organized for the purpose to resolve tensions within the party are authorized”.
In reaction to these government measures, the SG of the party, Simon Bizimungu, denounced “a serious violation of the Constitution and of the law on political parties which prohibits (…) any interference by public authorities in the functioning of parties”, as well as than an “attempt to destabilize and weaken the CNL” before the 2025 legislative elections.
According to him, there is no “tension or dispute within the CNL. It’s just a small group of eight protesting people who have no weight, except the support of the public authorities.
Agathon Rwasa was a candidate for the 2020 presidential election won by Évariste Ndayishimiye.
By OMA Newsletter N° 1205 of 07/06/2023
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
