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Burundi: Frodebu Faces Internal Divisions
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Burundi Réalités (Bujumbura)
5 March 2008
Posted to the web 5 March 2008
Bujumbura
The stalemate in the national assembly has cast light on internal division in the main opposition party, Sahwanya Frodebu.
Nine members of the parliament have issued a statement demanding that Hon Claver Nahimana, currently the chairman of the Frodebu parliamentarian group, step down. They say that the mandate of the chairman of Frodebu parliamentarian group has already expired. These members of the parliament expressed their intention to resume attending plenary sessions of the national assembly.
Recently, sources from Frodebu stated that Claver Nahimana would replace Didace Kiganahe if CNDD-FDD accepted a bargain to remove Alice Nzomukunda from her post as the first vice-presidency of the national assembly. The chairman of the CNDD-FDD parliamentarian group, Hon Evariste Nsengiyumva, has approved Frodebu's move to expel Didace Kiganahe from the second-vice presidency of the national assembly. Frodebu rejects these allegations, saying that Frodebu would not need the assistance of CNDD-FDD in order to dismiss Didace Kiganahe, just as the ruling party did not require any assistance from Frodebu to expel Alice Nzomukunda from CNDD-FDD during their recent party congress in Muyinga.
Today, despite Frodebu's statement, the second vice president of the national assembly, Hon Didace Kiganahe, said in a press conference that Leonce Ngendakumana, the leader of Frodebu, is seeking to remove him from his position.
These nine members of the parliament issued their statement after the plenary session that was slated for today in the national assembly but failed to reach quorum did not take place. These nine Frodebu MPs' decision to return to plenary sessions of the national assembly should help the ruling party replace Alice Nzomukunda as leader of the national assembly. Sixty-eight MPs attended today's session after eleven Frodebu MPs resolved to return to the plenary sessions, in defiance of the leader of their party and the chairman of their parliamentarian group. The current situation in the national assembly comes as a complete reversal: it was the same situation that was prevailing four weeks ago.
The plan of the ruling party to expel Alice Nzomukunda from the first-vice presidency of the national assembly has stirred up internal divisions that various parties. Although the demand of the nine Frodebu MP's constitutes a new development, the existence of this division dates back to 2005 after the Frodeby party of Melchior Ndadaye lost the presidential elections. These two blocs have prevailed in Frodebu. Currently, around ten MPs are still loyal to Jean Minani, including Didace Kiganahe.
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This dismissal of Alice Nzomukunda has also caused dissention in Uprona party. Initially, this party announced that it would participate in all sessions aimed at dismissing Alice Nzomukunda. In reality, only a fraction of the fifteen Uprona MPs participated in the sessions. Today, they all attended the plenary session under the chairmanship of the speaker of the national assembly, Hon Pie Ntavyohanyuma, and the Second Vice-President, Hon Didace Kiganahe. The contest for representation in the regional legislative body remains the main cause that has revived the dormant internal divisions that all the two opposition parties have nursed since their defeat in the last elections.
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