General Secretary of the United Democratic Party (UDP) Barnabas Henson has refuted the Island Sun front-page article on Tuesday which he described as erroneously implied that parliamentary members of the party are part of a UDP-Kadere alliance faction within Solomon Islands Democratic Coalition for Change Government.
In a statement Mr Henson said the implication is absolutely erroneous and misleading and warrants a correction.
“The UDP is now a partner in the current Opposition Coalition; the Solomon Islands Democratic Alliance Coalition after it defected from the previous Sogavare-led Democratic Coalition for Change Government last December.”
Mr. Henson confirmed that 14 UDP members of parliament, including Manasseh Sogavare have tendered resignations from the party in November 2017.
“By virtue of the PPI Act and the UDP Constitution, those MPs are no longer members of the party. They have since joined forces with the Democratic Alliance Party to form the new Solomon Islands Democratic Coalition for Change Government (SIDCCG) led by Prime Minister Rick Hou.
“There are no UDP members in the SIDCCG so to imply UDP as part being of the SIDCCG is erroneous and misleading. There is no such thing as a UDP-Kadere alliance.
“The UDP Executive is appealing to the media verify any reports concerning the party or its members before publishing them,” the UDP Secretary said.
