PM CHOSEN AS MNSD PRESIDENT AT PARTY CONVENTION; PRO-HAMA

UNCLAS NIAMEY 000106 DEPT FOR AF/W AND AF/RSA PLS PASS TO USAID FOR AFR/W PLS PASS TO TSCTP MEMBERS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM SOCI KCOR PHUM NG SUBJECT: PM CHOSEN AS MNSD PRESIDENT AT PARTY CONVENTION; PRO-HAMA CAMP CRIES FOUL REF: a) 08 Niamey 01084, b) 08 Niamey 01028 ¶1. Summary: MNSD members selected PM Oumarou as party president during a February 21 extraordinary congress in Zinder, elevating him from his role as interim president. Party members also chose Minister of Interior Abouba as party Secretary General. Numerous MNSD members who supported former PM Amadou claimed they were improperly denied entry to the party leadership election; they refuse to accept convention decisions, which they regard as being made contrary to bylaws. This threatened party schism does not bode well for a year in which local, parliamentary, and presidential elections are all anticipated. End summary. -------------- -------------- MNSD Chooses PM Oumarou as President, MOI Abouba as Sec Gen -------------- -------------- ¶2. On February 21, the ruling party Mouvement National de la Societe de Developpement (National Movement for a Society of Development - MNSD) convened an extraordinary convention in Zinder to select new leadership to bring an end the stalemate that has afflicted the party since the June 2008 detention of its president, former Prime Minister Hama Amadou (Ref B). The 2,140 delegates at the convention unanimously selected current Prime Minister Seyni Oumarou to replace Hama Amadou, raising his party stature from interim to full party president (Ref A). The convention also selected Albade Abouba, the current Minister of State for Interior, Public Security, and Decentralization, as the party's new Secretary General, and revised some provisions of the party's bylaws. ¶3. In other business, convention delegates decided to decrease party executive board members' terms of office from five to three years, and voted for a resolution to apply appropriate sanctions for violations of the party's statutes. -------------- -------------- MNSC Pro-Amadou Faction Claims Denied Entrance, Voice -------------- -------------- ¶4. On the margin of the convention, however, supporters of former Prime Minister Hama Amadou, imprisoned on corruption charges since June 2008, held a press conference to complain that security agents had denied them access to the convention hall. There are unconfirmed media reports that police momentarily detained an unknown number of partisans outside the MNSD convention site. Hama supporters stated that the convention was held in violation of the party's bylaws, and therefore they did not recognize any resolutions taken or leaders appointed at the convention. They warned that the current situation may lead to instability on the part of government institutions. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶5. The convention was based on a resolution passed on January 11 by 104 out of 150 MNSD partisans present at a leadership meeting; its purpose was to allow the MNSD to settle its differences and commence preparations for the 2009 local, legislative, and presidential elections. While PM Oumarou stated in his acceptance speech that the responsibility conferred upon him requires him "to forgive...and to lead party members to cohesion," it appears that the schism within the party has yet to heal. Observers expect a long legal dispute as the President Tandja/PM Oumarou bloc and the Hama camp continue battling for legitimacy to lead the party. End comment. ¶6. Minimize considered. ALLEN