The National Rally for Democracy [RND] has chosen Abdul Qadir bin Saleh as the new Secretary-General of the party, after Ahmed Ouyahia controversially resigned on January 5. Following a unanimous vote in his favour, bin Saleh called on all party members to “unite to overcome critical conditions and improve the party's image, so that its opponents have no opportunity to beat it.” Bin Saleh will stand as Secretary-General until the next party conference. The RND’s new leader has held the position before, taking the position of Secretary-General on February 21 1997 around the time of the party’s inception. Bin Saleh is considered one of the founders of the National Rally for Democracy.