People's Socialist Union
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People's Socialist Union Union Socialiste du Peuple | |
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usp-ci | |
The People's Socialist Union (
History
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The People's Socialist Union (USP) was founded in 1996. The general secretary of USP was
For the first time, the leader, Houphouët-Boigny, of the 30-year-old dictatorship declared that the country could accept any kind of change provided that it was done in peace and order. Underground opposition parties used that opportunity to submit their application to the ministry of interior to have their parties recognized. The country returned to multipartyism after 30 years of a single party with a single radio station, TV station, and state newspaper.
Henri Tohou became the national organization secretary of
In 2014, Tohou was arrested and held in custody for 19 days.[2]
Present state
Since May 1996, Tohou and others have created a new political party (USP) which they also call "The People's Socialist Party". The party has been campaigning about the risk of a civil war in Côte d'Ivoire, but few Western countries paid attention to their warning. When the civil war started in Côte d'Ivoire, the USP campaigned against the policy of a full-scale war supported by the government and instead proposed a political and peaceful settlement. Henri Tohou has been in exile in London since 1994 and is currently working hard with members of USP worldwide to stand as the youngest candidate for the next presidential elections. The USP believes that the old politicians who brought war to their country must be replaced by a new generation of politicians not involved in the atrocities suffered by the Ivorian people. The major difficulty the USP may be facing during the next election would probably be the lack of financial power in a war-torn country where people are now living in a state of serious poverty as a result of 3 years of civil war while the other old politicians standing for the elections include two former heads of state; one a former prime minister, all rich enough to use their financial power during those elections.
The party has increased and strengthened its branches throughout Côte d'Ivoire, including the north and west areas currently under rebels' control. The party held its convention in London from the 23 to 25 July 2009 during which Henri Tohou, previously Secretary-General of the party, has been elected president and given the power to stand for the presidential elections. A new Secretary-General has been appointed and he has now traveled to Abidjan to plan the campaign with local USP leaders.
On 16 October 2009, the last day for submission of applications to the national electoral commission for candidates who want to run for the presidency, Henri Tohou's application was submitted to the electoral commission by his legal team and his spouse who traveled from Britain. An electoral deposit of approximately £30,000 was paid to the Ivorian national treasury.
References
- ^ "Elections présidentielles 2010 | Henri Tohou". Abidjan.net. 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ "Biographie Henri Tohou". USP-CI (in French). Retrieved 18 March 2021.