The Chadian Progressive Party (french: Parti Progressiste Tchadien, PPT), known as the National Movement for the Cultural and Social Revolution (french: Mouvement National pour la Révolution Culturelle et Sociale, MNRCS) for the last two years of its existence, was the first African political party in Chad. It was a regional branch of the

African Democratic Rally African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

(RDA).

History

The party was founded in February 1947,Chad: Defunct parties
EISA by Gabriel Lisette, who had been elected to the French National Assembly in

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

the previous November. At first it attracted support mainly from the country's non-Muslim

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

s; politically it was much more radical and nationalistic than its main rival, the Muslim-dominated Chadian Democratic Union (UDT). This was revealed by its motto: "Enough with cotton! Enough with taxes! Enough with chiefs!" (''Plus de coton! Plus d’impôts! Plus de chefs!''). Originally much weaker than the UDT, Lisette lost his seat in the National Assembly in the 1951 elections, in which the two second college seats were both won by the UDT. However, the 1956 electoral reforms expanded the pool of eligible voters and saw power begin to pass to the Christian and Animist south where the PPT had most of its support. In the 1956 French National Assembly elections the PPT received the largest share of the vote in the second college, resulting in Lisette elected back to the National Assembly. In the Territorial Assembly elections the following year the PPT formed the Entente alliance with the Grouping of Rural and Independent Chadians, the

Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance The Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (french: Union démocratique et socialiste de la Résistance or UDSR) was a French political party founded after the liberation of France from German occupation and mainly active during the Fo ...

, Radicals and Radical Socialists and the

Independent Socialist Party of Chad The Independent Socialist Party of Chad (french: Parti socialiste indépendant du Tchad, PSIT), initially called Independent Social Party of Chad, was a political party in Chad. History PSIT was founded on 21 September 1950 at a General Assem ...

. The Entente won 57 of the 65 seats in the Assembly, with the PPT taking 32. As a result, Lisette became

Head of Government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

. The PPT went on to win the 1959 elections, taking 57 of the 84 seats. In 1962 a new constitution made Chad a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

, with the PPT as the sole legal party.Chad: Authoritarian regimes, elections and coups (1962-1996)
EISA As a result, the party won every seat 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 ...

in the

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

and 1969 parliamentary elections, whilst PPT leader

François Tombalbaye François Tombalbaye ( ar, فرنسوا تومبالباي '; 15 June 1918 – 13 April 1975), also known as N'Garta Tombalbaye, was a Chadian politician who served as the first President of Chad from the country's independence in 1960 until ...

was re-elected President unopposed in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. Whilst women formed an early part of the political party, by 1968 Kalthouma Nguembang was the only woman in the National Assembly. In 1973 the party was renamed the "National Movement for the Cultural and Social Revolution" to consolidate support for Tombalbaye–who had changed his name to N'Garta–in the midst of a

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 ...

. However, two years later Tombalbaye was overthrown in a coup and the party was banned in April 1975.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

National Assembly elections

Notes

Within the Entente, the Chadian Progressive Party won 32 seats, the Grouping of Rural and Independent Chadians won nine, the

won 7, Radicals and Radical Socialists won 7, the

won 1 in total the alliance won 57 seats

References