In January 2008, the party was in the midst of a dispute between its two top leaders: Tall, its President, and N'Diaye Bah, its Secretary-General (as well as Minister of Crafts and Tourism in the government). According to Bah, Tall had wanted to run as the party's 2007 presidential candidate, but the others in the party opposed this, believing that it was in the party's interests to back Touré. Tall and Bah were each suspended from the party's steering committee by supporters of their rival, and both of them claimed that the suspension decisions against them were taken by small groups surrounding their rival.