The Coalition of Forces for Democratic Change (CFDC) (french: Coalition des Forces de Changements Démocratique) was an

electoral coalition An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. Ea ...

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

. The Coalition was founded on 28 June 2006 by ten Mauritanian political parties, following Mauritania's "return to democracy" after the

2005 Mauritanian coup d'état The 2005 Mauritanian coup d'état was a military coup that took place in Mauritania on 3 August 2005. The President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was ousted by the Armed Forces of Mauritania and replaced by the Military Council for Justice and De ...

. The main aims of the coalition were to prevent the elections of politicians who had served under former President

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya ( ar, معاوية ولد سيد أحمد الطايع, Ma‘āwiyah wuld Sīdi Aḥmad aṭ-Ṭāya‘ / Mu'awiya walad Sayyidi Ahmad Taya; born 28 November 1941) is a Mauritanian military officer who served as the P ...

, and also to cut Mauritania's diplomatic ties with

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, with one of the Coalitions first actions being to organize a pro-Palestinian rally in

Nouakchott , image_skyline = Nouakchott.jpg , image_caption = City view of Nouakchott , pushpin_map = Mauritania#Arab world#Africa , pushpin_relief = 1 , mapsize = , map_caption ...

. Most of the parties were former members of the Bloc of Eight electoral coalition. The only two members of the Bloc of Eight who didn't want to join the CFDC were the

Union for Democracy and Progress The Union for Democracy and Progress (, UDP; ar, الاتحاد للديمقراطية والتقدم) is a political party in Mauritania. The UDP is led by Naha Mint Mouknass,Sawab ''Thawāb'' ( ar, ثواب) is an Arabic term meaning "reward". Specifically, in the context of an Islamic worldview, ''thawāb'' refers to spiritual merit or reward that accrues from the performance of good deeds and piety. Pronunciation The ...

, which didn't join for ideological reasons. The coalition won in the 21 January and 4 February 2007

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

only 3 out of 56 seats.

Composition

The parties that made up the coalition were; * People's Progressive Alliance (former Bloc of Eight) *

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

(former Bloc of Eight) *

Union of the Forces of Progress The Union of the Forces of Progress (; ; , UFP) is a social democratic political party in Mauritania. Position The UFP describes itself as a cross ethnic, republican, social justice oriented party. It has made statements against the persecution ...

(former Bloc of Eight) *

Democratic Renovation The Democratic Renovation (''Rénovation Démocratique'') is a political party in Mauritania. The party won 2 out of 95 seats in the 19 November and 3 December 2006 elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by whi ...

(former Bloc of Eight) *

Rally of Democratic Forces The Rally of Democratic Forces (french: Rassemblement des Forces Démocratiques, RFD), or Assembly of Democratic Forces, is a political party in Mauritania. It is led by Ahmed Ould Daddah. In October 2000, the Union of Democratic Forces-New Era ...

(former Bloc of Eight) *

Rally for Mauritania Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Spor ...

(former Bloc of Eight) *

Mauritanian Party of Union and Change The Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (''Parti mauritanien de l'union et du changement'', HATEM) is a political party in Mauritania. The party won in the 19 November and 3 December 2006 elections 2 out of 95 seats and in the 21 January and 4 ...

(HATEM) * Democratic Union Party (PUD) *The

Central Reformist Party Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

(recognition status still pending). *The Direct Democratic Movement (recognition status still pending).

References

Political party alliances in Mauritania {{Mauritania-party-stub