The Force for Change Democratic Movement-Liberal Party ( pt, Movimento Democrático das Forças da Mudança-Partido Liberal) is a former

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...

. It was formed after the 29 July 2001

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

by supporters of the elected president

Fradique de Menezes Fradique Bandeira Melo de Menezes (born March 21, 1942) is a São Toméan politician who was the third president of São Tomé and Príncipe from 2001 to 2011. Early life Menezes was born on the then Portuguese colony of São Tomé in 1942, the s ...

Tomé Vera Cruz Tomé Soares da Vera Cruz (born 23 July 1956) was the 14th prime minister of São Tomé and Príncipe from April 2006 to February 2008. He is also Secretary-General of the Force for Change Democratic Movement-Liberal Party (MDFM-PL). In addition t ...

became the party's first Secretary General. At the

legislative elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, 3 March 2002, the party won together with the

Democratic Convergence Party-Reflection Group Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

39.4% of the popular vote and 23 out of 55 seats. The same alliance won at the

legislative election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, held on 26 March 2006, 36.79% and 23 out of 55 seats. Fradique de Menezes, who represented the party in the 30 July 2006

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

, was re-elected with 60.58% of the vote.

Decline and merger

The party lost 22 seats in the 2010 parliamentary election after the

Democratic Convergence Party – Reflection Group Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

(PDC–RG) had left their alliance with it in 2008 and only retained a single seat, it sank further into irrelevancy after Menezes seized to be president in 2011 and got no seats in the 2014 election. In late October 2017 the party and the

Union of Democrats for Citizenship and Development Union of Democrats for Citizenship and Development ( pt, União dos Democratas para Cidadania e Desenvolvimento) is a former political party in São Tomé and Príncipe, formed in January 2005. The party was formed amongst dissidents from the In ...

(UDD) formed the MDFM–UDD union (initially known as MDFM/PL–UDD). The two parties formally merged as the MDFM–UDD Union in August 2018. Carlos Neves was elected chairman of the MDFM–UDD Union at its constitutive congress in August 2018. In August 2018 the new party entered into an electoral alliance with the PDC, which gained 9.5% of the vote and 5 seats in the 2018 parliamentary elections.

References

Political parties established in 2001 Political parties in São Tomé and Príncipe *Main 2001 establishments in São Tomé and Príncipe {{SaoTomePrincipe-stub