The National Unity Party (, PUN) is a

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

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

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. It was the '' de facto'' sole political party in the country during the

Duvalier dynasty The Duvalier family (French language, French: ''Dynastie des Duvalier''; Haitian Creole: ''Dinasti Duvalier'') was an Autocracy, autocratic hereditary dictatorship in Haiti that lasted almost 29 years, from 1957 until 1986, spanning the rule of ...

(), the

autocratic Autocracy is a form of government in which absolute power is held by the head of state and Head of government, government, known as an autocrat. It includes some forms of monarchy and all forms of dictatorship, while it is contrasted with demo ...

family dictatorship of

François "Papa Doc" Duvalier François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire; 1 ...

and his son Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, which lasted from 1957 to 1986.

History

The PUN was founded in 1957 as a political platform to support the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

ial candidacy of "Papa Doc" Duvalier in the 1957 general election. In the aftermath of the July 1958 coup attempt, the ''

Tonton Macoute The Tonton Macoute () or simply the Macoute, was a Haitian paramilitary and secret police force created in 1959 by dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Haitians named this force after the Haitian mythological bogeyman, (" Uncle Gunnysa ...

'' — officially named Volunteers of the National Security (, VSN) — was formed as the

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

wing of the PUN. In 1963, other political parties in Haiti were outlawed, making the PUN the single political party of the nation. When "Papa Doc" Duvalier died in 1971, his son "Baby Doc" Duvalier succeeded him as the President of the country and the leader of the party. The party would remain in power until the fall and exile of "Baby Doc" Duvalier in 1986, at the height of the

Anti-Duvalier protest movement The Anti-Duvalier protest movement was a series of demonstrations in Haiti from 23 May 1984 to 7 February 1986 that led to the overthrow of President Jean-Claude Duvalier and the Duvalier dynasty regime and the readoption of the original flag a ...

, after which the party would enter a low profile stage, including the change of its name to National Progressive Party (, PPN). After the return of "Baby Doc" Duvalier from exile in 2011, the party began a process of reconstitution under its original name from 2014, and started opening departmental offices. Suffering a setback with the death of "Baby Doc" Duvalier in 2014, the party nominated Marc-Arthur Drouillard as its candidate in the 2015 presidential election. Towards that time, the legal representative of the party was Philomène Exe.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Chamber of Deputies elections

References

{{Haitian political parties Political parties in Haiti Parties of one-party systems Political parties established in 1957 Haitian nationalism African and Black nationalism in North America African and Black nationalist parties Afro-Haitian culture Anti-communist parties 1957 establishments in Haiti Far-right politics in North America Conservative parties in North America

History

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Chamber of Deputies elections

See also

References