BUJUMBURA, Burundi
Burundi's main opposition party was split Sunday after a faction said they had ousted its leader, Agathon Rwasa, for failing to unify the two sides.
Rwasa was deposed as the head
of the suspended National Freedom Council (CNL) at a general assembly in the
north of the country, party sources and witnesses said.
The 60-year-old former militia
leader was replaced by Nestor Girukwishakae, a senior executive at a
state-owned company.
Formed in 2019, CNL was
suspended last year by the government of the central African country which
accused it of "irregularities."
Critics said the move by the
interior ministry was an attempt to stifle dissent ahead of the 2025
legislative elections and risked returning the country to political turmoil.
The party's secretary general
Simon Bizimungu denounced Rwasa's removal, saying it went against their
constitution.
"This is a violation of
article 47 of our party's statutes, which states that only the president and
legitimate legal representative is authorized to convene such a meeting,"
Bizimungu told AFP.
Bizimungu accused the interior
minister Martin Niteretse of refusing to allow Rwasa to hold a general assembly
of his own on March 2, but "gave authorization to a small group of 10
dissidents to organize this masquerade and steal our party from us."
A senior CNL official said the
dissident legislators must submit the decisions of Sunday's meeting to the
interior ministry for approval.
"This is the only way
they have found to keep our leader Agathon Rwasa out of the legislative
elections scheduled for May 2025, because they are afraid of the political
force he represents today," said Bizimungu.
Local media reported that
Sunday's meeting took place under a heavy police presence.
Rwasa came second to President
Evariste Ndayishimiye in the 2020 election, which the opposition said was
flawed.
Ndayishimiye, who took power after the death of president Pierre Nkurunziza,
has been lauded by the international community for slowly ending years of
isolation under his predecessor's chaotic and bloody rule.
But he has failed to improve a
wretched human rights record and the country of 12 million people remains one
of the poorest on the planet.
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