The Union for the Triumph of Democratic Renewal (french: Union pour le Triomphe du Renouveau Démocratique, UTRD) was a
political alliance
A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies.
International terms
Equivalent terms are used differ ...
in
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...
.
History
The UTRD was established in 1991 to support presidential candidate
Nicéphore Soglo
Nicéphore Dieudonné Soglo (born November 29, 1934) is a Beninese politician who was Prime Minister of Benin from 1990 to 1991 and President from 1991 to 1996. He was Mayor of Cotonou from 2003 to 2015. Soglo was married to Rosine Vieyra Soglo, ...
, and initially consisted of the
Democratic Union of the Forces of Progress
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 ...
(UDFP), the
Movement for Democracy and Social Progress
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* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
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* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
(MDPS) and the
Union for Liberty and Development (ULD).
[Mathurin C Houngnikpo & Samuel Decalo (2012) ''Historical Dictionary of Benin'', Scarecrow Press, p351] It won 12 seats in the
1991 parliamentary election, emerging as the largest faction in the 64-seat
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 repre ...
. Soglo went on to win the
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 ...
in March, beating
Mathieu Kérékou
Mathieu Kérékou (; 2 September 1933 – 14 October 2015) was a Beninese politician who served as President of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2006.
After seizing power in a military coup, he ruled the country for 19 years, for ...
in a runoff.
Subsequently the alliance expanded, changing its name to New Republic (''Nouvelle République'') when an additional nine MPs joined. In 1993 it became Renewal (''La Renouveau'') after absorbing another 13 MPs, giving it a total of 34 seats.
[ The ]Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
, National Union for Solidarity and Progress
The National Union for Solidarity and Progress (french: Union Nationale pour la Solidarité et le Progrès, UNSP) was a political party in Benin led by Eustache Sarré.
History
The UNSP contested the 1991 parliamentary elections in an alliance ...
and Union for Democracy and National Solidarity
The Union for Democracy and National Solidarity (french: Union pour la Démocratie et la Solidarité Nationale) is an oppositional political party in Benin.
The party's president, Sacca Lafia, was its candidate in the March 2001 presidential ele ...
were amongst the parties that joined.[Houngnikpo & Decalo, p310]
The alliance split prior to the 1995 elections. Of the three original parties, only the UDFP contested the elections, failing to win a seat.
References
1991 establishments in Benin
Defunct political party alliances in Benin
Political parties established in 1991
Political parties with year of disestablishment missing
{{Benin-party-stub