Union of Democratic and Progressive Patriots

The Union of Democratic and Progressive Patriots (French: Union des Patriotes Démocrates et Progressistes, UPDP-Chamoua) is a centrist political party in Niger, founded and led by André Salifou, who has run for president on several occasions.^[1] The party held seats in the National Assembly between 1993 and 1999.

History

The party was established on 11 December 1990. It received 3% of the vote in the 1993 parliamentary elections, winning two seats. Although Salifou had been provisional head of state during the transition to democratic rule in 1991.^[1] Since Salifou's position barred him from standing in the 1993 presidential elections, the party nominated Illa Kané as its candidate; he finished fifth in the eight-candidate field with 3% of the vote.^[2] Following the elections the UPDP went into opposition until 1995.^[1]

In the 1995 parliamentary elections, the party was reduced to a single seat, with Salifou elected in Zinder.^[2][1] Following the 1996 coup, the party did not participate in the 1996 presidential elections, but did contest the parliamentary elections later in the year. Due to a boycott by the main opposition, the party won four seats, its best-ever result.^[2]

In the 1999 general elections that followed another coup, Salifou ran for president again, finishing sixth out of seven candidates with 2% of the vote.^[2] It fared worse in the parliamentary elections, where the party's vote share was only 0.6%, resulting in it losing all four seats. The party did not nominate a presidential candidate in the 2004 general elections, and remained seatless after receiving only 0.2% of the vote in the parliamentary elections. However, Salifou was given a role in Tandja Mamadou's government.^[3]

The 2009 parliamentary elections saw the party's vote share fall to just 0.04%. It did not contest the 2011 or 2016 general elections.

References

1. Jibrin Ibrahim and Abdoulayi Niandou Souley, "The rise to power of an opposition party: the MNSD in Niger Republic", Unisa Press, Politeia, Vol. 15, No. 3, 1996.
2. African Elections Database: Niger. Accessed 2009-05-22.
3. "Nominations: André Salifou, nommé représentant spécial d’ Amara Essy et Lansana Kouyaté, nommé représentant spécial de l’OIF pour la Côte d’Ivoire" Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Afrique Express, N° 264, February 17, 2003 (in French).