The Rally for Democracy and Progress (french: Rassemblement pour la Démocratie et le Progrès, RDP-Jama'a) is a
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 ...
in
Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languagesHamid Algabid
Hamid Algabid (born 1941) is a Nigerien politician and the President of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP-Jama'a) party. A lawyer, banker, and technocrat, Algabid was an important figure in the regime of Seyni Kountché, serving as Prim ...
. It was established as the ruling party during the presidency of
Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara
General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara (May 9, 1949 – April 9, 1999) was a military officer and diplomat in Niger who ruled the country from his seizure of power in 1996 until his assassination during the military coup of April 1999.
Baré Maïn ...
.
History
The
National Union of Independents for Democratic Renewal
The National Union of Independents for Democratic Renewal (french: Union Nationale des Indépendants pour le Renouveau Démocratique, UNIRD) was a political party in Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National ...
(UNIRD) was established in 1996 to support Maïnassara in that year's
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 ...
. UNIRD went on to win the
parliamentary 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 ...
later in the year. However, the following year it was dissolved and replaced by the RDP-Jama'a. At the RDP's national congress,
Hamid Algabid
Hamid Algabid (born 1941) is a Nigerien politician and the President of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP-Jama'a) party. A lawyer, banker, and technocrat, Algabid was an important figure in the regime of Seyni Kountché, serving as Prim ...
was elected leader of the RDP-Jama'a on 20 August 1997.
After Maïnassara was assassinated in a coup in April 1999, a new transitional military regime held elections late in the year. One faction of the RDP chose Algabid as its candidate for the
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 pr ...
Organisation internationale de la Francophonie
The (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, french: La Francophonie , but also called International Organisation of in English-language context) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a ...
. The dispute led to the Cissé faction breaking away to form the Union for Democracy and the Republic. In the elections, Algabid finished fourth out of seven candidates in the first round with 10.83% of the vote,Elections in Niger African Elections Database. and he backed
Mahamadou Issoufou
Mahamadou Issoufou (born 1 January 1952) is a Nigerien politician who served as the President of Niger from 7 April 2011 to 2 April 2021. Issoufou was the prime minister of Niger from 1993 to 1994, president of the National Assembly from 1995 ...
of the
Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism
The Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (french: Parti Nigerien pour la Democratie et le Socialisme, PNDS-Tarayya) is a political party in Niger. It is a broadly left-leaning party, part of the Socialist International, and since 2011 it ...
(PNDS) in the second round. However, some in the RPD disagreed with this decision and backed
Mamadou Tandja
Mamadou Tandja (1938 – 24 November 2020) was a Nigerien politician who was President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement for the Development Society (MNSD) from 1991 to 1999 and unsuccessfully ran as the MNSD ...
of the
National Movement for the Development of Society
The National Movement for the Development of Society (french: Mouvement National pour la Société du Développement, MNSD-Nassara) is a political party in Niger. Founded under the military government of the 1974–1990 period, it was the ruling ...
(MNSD) instead. Tandja won the second round against Issoufou. In the 1999 parliamentary election, the RDP won eight seats in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
, and following the election, it went into opposition along with the PNDS."Niger: Democratic Rally of the People-Jama'a-RDP" Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada, 19 September 2002.
Algabid was re-elected President of the RDP for another three-year term at a party congress on 23 January 2001,"Niger: Rally for Democracy and Progress re-elects chairman", Agence France-Presse, 23 January 2001. although a dissident faction, led by Idi Ango Omar, opposed Algabid's nomination of executive members of the party. Following his re-election, Algabid said that the party's "immediate objective" was "to secure the opening of an international commission of inquiry into the assassination of president Mainassara". In the National Assembly, the RDP proposed that the
amnesty
Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offic ...
for participants in both the
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...
and 1999 coups be lifted, but the proposal was rejected by a large majority of deputies on 21 April 2001. Along with other opposition parties, the RPD was part of a demonstration by about 3,000 people in
Niamey
Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital di ...
on 7 April 2002, shortly before the anniversary of the assassination, demanding an international inquiry.
In the 2004 general election Algabid was the RDP's presidential candidate again, finishing last in a field of six candidates with 5% of the vote. The RDP then backed incumbent President Mamadou Tandja in the second round."Présidentielle au Niger: un quatrième parti, le RDP, soutient la candidature de Mamadou Tandja au second tour" , Xinhua, 23 November 2004 . In the concurrent parliamentary election the party received 6.5% of the vote, winning six of the 113 seats. Five years later, in the 2009 parliamentary election, it won seven seats.
The party did not nominate a presidential candidate for the 2011 general election, but retained its seven seats in the National Assembly. The
2016 election
The following elections occurred in the year 2016.
Africa
Benin Republic
*2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016
Cape Verde
* 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016
Chad
* 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 A ...
saw it reduced to three seats, with the party again not contesting the presidential election.