The Union of Forces for Change (french: Union des Forces du Changement) is an opposition
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
Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
. The President of the UFC was
Gilchrist Olympio
Gilchrist Olympio (born 26 December 1936) is a Togolese politician who was a long-time opponent of the regime of Gnassingbé Eyadéma and was President of the Union of Forces for Change (UFC), Togo's main opposition party from the 1990s til 2013.< ...
[Profile of Olympio at UFC website]
and its Secretary-General was
Jean-Pierre Fabre
Jean-Pierre Fabre (born 2 June 1952) is a Togolese politician and the President of Togo's main opposition party, the National Alliance for Change (''Alliance Nationale pour le Changement'', ANC). He served for years as Secretary-General of the Un ...
until 10 August 2010. Olympio is the son of the first President of Togo,
Sylvanus Olympio
Sylvanus Épiphanio Olympio (; 6 September 1902 – 13 January 1963) was a Togolese politician who served as prime minister, and then president, of Togo from 1958 until his assassination in 1963. He came from the important Olympio family, wh ...
, who was assassinated in a 1963 coup. On 10 August 2010,
Jean-Pierre Fabre
Jean-Pierre Fabre (born 2 June 1952) is a Togolese politician and the President of Togo's main opposition party, the National Alliance for Change (''Alliance Nationale pour le Changement'', ANC). He served for years as Secretary-General of the Un ...
was elected as President of the party.
History
The UFC was founded by Olympio as a federation of parties on 1 February 1992.
["Historique du mouvement patriotique togolais"]
UFC website Olympio was barred from standing in the
August 1993 presidential election on a technicality.
[ The UFC boycotted the February 1994 parliamentary election.][ Olympio was able to run in the June 1998 presidential election, placing second with 34% of the vote, behind long-time President ]Gnassingbé Eyadéma
Gnassingbé Eyadéma (; born Étienne Gnassingbé, 26 December 1935 – 5 February 2005) was the president of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, after which he was immediately succeeded by his son, Faure Gnassingbé.
Eyadéma participated i ...
, according to official results; the UFC alleged fraud, however. The UFC boycotted the March 1999 parliamentary election,[''Political Parties of the World'' (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, page 592] and it also participated in an opposition boycott of the next 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 27 October 2002.[
, the First Vice-President of the UFC, was the main opposition candidate in the June 2003 presidential election and the April 2005 presidential election, acting as a surrogate candidate for Olympio, who was banned from running because he had lived in exile for several years. He officially received 38.1% of the vote on the latter occasion, losing to , son of the deceased Eyadéma, amidst opposition claims of a rigged vote.
The UFC decided not to join the national unity government under Prime Minister ]Yawovi Agboyibo
Yawovi Madji Agboyibo (31 December 1943, Republicoftogo.com, 11 January 2007 .30 May 2020) was a Togolese attorney and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Togo from September 2006 to December 2007 and was National President of the Action ...
in September 2006, although many in the party were reportedly unhappy with Olympio's decision in this regard. The party's Second Vice-President, Amah Gnassingbé Amah may refer to:
*Amah, a unit of measurement described in the Bible; see Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement
*Amah (mother), a term for "mother" in several contexts
*Amah (occupation), East Asian or South Asian term for a girl or woman em ...
, accepted a post in the government as Minister of State and was suspended from the UFC as a result.
The party participated in the October 2007 parliamentary election, the first time it participated in a parliamentary election since multiparty elections began to be held in the early 1990s. The party won 27 out of 81 seats, behind the ruling Rally of the Togolese People
The Rally of the Togolese People (french: Rassemblement du Peuple Togolais, RPT) was the ruling political party in Togo from 1969 to 2012. It was founded by President Gnassingbé Eyadéma and headed by his son, President Faure Gnassingbé, after t ...
(RPT), which won a majority. The UFC alleged irregularities in vote counting and, following the confirmation of the results by the Constitutional Court, UFC Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Fabré, described the results as "neither credible nor acceptable" and said that they did not represent the people's will.
At the UFC's Second Ordinary Congress, held in Nyékonakpoé Nyékonakpoé is a neighborhood of Lomé, Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It ex ...
, Lomé
Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437 on 18–19 July 2008, Olympio was re-elected as National President of the UFC; he was also unanimously chosen as the party's candidate for the 2010 presidential election. Also at this congress, Jean-Pierre Fabré was re-elected as Secretary-General; Patrick Lawson Patrick may refer to:
*Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name
*Patrick (surname), list of people with this name
People
*Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint
*Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...
was elected as First Vice-President, while Bob-Akitani was named Honorary President.
Electoral history
Presidential elections
National Assembly elections
References
External links
Official website
{{Togolese political parties
Political parties in Togo
Political parties established in 1992
1992 establishments in Togo