Voltaic Union (french: Union Voltaïque) was 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 Upper Volta. It was formed soon after World War II on the initiative of the French governor Albert Mouragues, and Mouragues was accused of interference in the June 1948 local elections on behalf of the party.Daniel Miles McFarland, 'MOURAGUES, ALBERT JEAN', ''Historical Dictionary of Upper Volta (Haute Volta)'', 1978, p. 112 Also known as the (UDIHV), it was an alliance of young Catholic-trained Voltaics and traditional chiefs opposed to domination by the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. Early members included Joseph Conombo,

Henri Guissou Henri Guissou (17 November 1910, Koudougou, French Upper Volta – 22 May 1979, Koudougou) was a Burkinabé politician and diplomat. Henri Guissou was senator from Côte d'Ivoire from 1947 to 1948, and member for French Upper Volta to the National ...

, Joseph Ouedraogo and

Maurice Yaméogo Maurice Yaméogo (31 December 1921 – 15 September 1993) was the first President of the Republic of Upper Volta, now called Burkina Faso, from 1959 until 1966. "Monsieur Maurice" embodied the Voltaic state at the moment of independence. However ...

.Daniel Miles McFarland, 'UNION POUR LA DEFENSE DES INTERÊTS DE LA HAUTE VOLTA (UDIHV)', ''Historical Dictionary of Upper Volta (Haute Volta)'', 1978, p. 150 In the 1951 elections UV sent four members to 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 repre ...

: Dr. Joseph Conombo,

Nazi Boni Nazi Boni (December 31, 1909, in Bwan, Upper Senegal and Niger – May 16, 1969, in Kokologho, Upper Volta) was a politician from Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso). In 1948 Boni was elected to the French National Assembly on behalf of the Voltaic U ...

and

Mamadou Ouédraogo Mamadou Ouédraogo (1906 in Ouahigouya – 9 September 1978 in Ouahigouya) was a politician in the French Upper Volta. One of the early leaders of the Voltaic Union Voltaic Union (french: Union Voltaïque) was a political party in Upper Volta. ...

. However, when its main backer, Governor Mouragues, left Upper Volta in 1953, the unity of UV became fragile. In 1955 Conombo and Guissou formed a new party, the

Social Party for the Emancipation of the African Masses Social Party for the Emancipation of the African Masses (in French: ''Parti Social pour l'Émancipation des Masses Africaines'') was a political party in Upper Volta, led by Joseph Conombo and Henri Guissou. PSEMA was founded in 1955 following a ...

(PSEMA). Similarly Nazi Boni founded the

African Popular Movement The African Popular Movement (in French: ''Mouvement Populaire Africain'') was a political party in Upper Volta, led by Nazi Boni. MPA was founded in 1955 following a split in the Voltaic Union. In the 1957 Territorial Assembly elections MPA wo ...

(MPA) the same year.

References

* Englebert, Pierre. ''La Revolution Burkinabè''. Paris: L'Harmattan, 1986. Defunct political parties in Burkina Faso Political parties established in the 1940s {{BurkinaFaso-party-stub