The Rally for Democracy and Social Progress (french: Rassemblement pour la démocratie et le progrès social, RDPS) 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 the
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
Pascal Lissouba
Pascal Lissouba (15 November 1931 – 24 August 2020) was a Congolese politician who was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of the Congo and served from 31 August 1992 until 25 October 1997. He was overthrown by the form ...
, the RDPS soon broke with the AND and joined the Union for Democratic Renewal (URD) opposition coalition, led by
Bernard Kolélas Bernard Bakana Kolélas (12 June 1933Alain Kounzilat, , Kimpwanza (planeteafrique.com) . – 13 November 2009Thierry Noungou"Parlement - Bernard Bakana Kolélas décédé ce 13 novembre à Paris", ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 13 November 2 ...
Movement for Unity and Reconstruction
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
(MUR), in November 1996. A few days after rebels loyal to
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer. He became president of the Republic of the Congo in 1997. He served a previous term as president from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as p ...
captured
Brazzaville
Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLI ...
, the capital, at the end of the
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
in October 1997, Tchicaya announced the support of the RDPS for Sassou Nguesso.
In the
parliamentary 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 24 June and 5 August 2007, the party won two out of 137 seats.
RDPS President Thystère Tchicaya died on 20 June 2008. Bernard Batchi succeeded him as Interim President of the RDPS. Later, the party was led by Thystère Tchicaya's son,
Jean-Marc Thystère Tchicaya
Jean-Marc Thystère Tchicaya (born 11 April 1964) is a Congolese politician. He is the Minister of Special Economic Zones and Economic Diversification since September 2022. Before that, he was the Minister of Transports, Civil Aviation, and Mer ...
. On 10 August 2015 he was nominated Minister of Hydrocarbures, allowing RDPS to formally join the government. In January 2016, the party pledged its support for Denis Sassou Nguesso in the March 2016 presidential election.
The party contested the 2017 parliamentary election as part of the presidential majority winning only three out of 151 seats. Following the election Jean-Marc Thystère Tchicaya was reconfirmed ad Minister of Hydrocarbures in the newly formed Clément Mouamba's second cabinet. In the 2021 presidential election the party supported once again Sassou Nguesso's candidacy, that was reelected for his fourth term. The following year, in the occasion of the 2022 parliamentary election the party obtained only two seats, one down from the previous election.