The Dahomeyan Democratic Party (french: Parti Démocratique Dahoméen, PDD) was the sole legal

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 ideological or p ...

in Dahomey from 1963 until 1965.

History

The PDD was established on 15 December 1963 by

Sourou-Migan Apithy Sourou-Migan Marcellin Joseph Apithy (April 8, 1913 – December 3, 1989) was a Beninese political figure most active when his country was known as Dahomey. He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey on ...

and

Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin (January 16, 1917 – March 8, 2002) was a Beninese politician most active when his country was known as Dahomey. He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region of Dahomey one lived i ...

following the overthrow of President

Hubert Maga Coutoucou Hubert Maga (August 10, 1916 – May 8, 2000) was a politician from Dahomey (now known as Benin).Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975. Se''New York Times'' obituary He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what regi ...

in a coup, and replaced the Dahomeyan Unity Party as the country's sole legal party. The party largely represented the interests of the Aja, Fon,

Nago ''Nagu'', Kunigami: ''Naguu'' is a city located in the northern part of Okinawa Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As of December 2012, the city has an estimated population of 61,659 and a population density of 288 persons per km2. Its tota ...

and

Yoruba people The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitut ...

of the south and central parts of the country. The 18 officers of the political bureau elected during the PDD Constituent Congress, included: The party won all 42 seats in the 1964 elections. However, when tensions and instability led Sourou-Migan Apithy and Justin Ahomadégbé to resign by the end of November 1965, Tahirou Congacou, president of 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 ...

, assumed the role of interim head of State and dissolved the party on 4 December 1965.

Electoral history

National Assembly elections

References

{{Beninese political parties Political parties established in 1963 Political parties disestablished in 1965 Defunct political parties in Benin Parties of one-party systems