The Democratic and Social Convention - Rahama (, CDS-Rahama) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

History

It was founded in January 1991. In the February 1993 parliamentary elections the party won 22 of the 83 seats 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 repr ...

, finishing second to the pro-military National Movement for the Development of Society (MNDS). In the subsequent

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 ...

, CDS-Rahama leader

Mahamane Ousmane Mahamane Ousmane (born 20 January 1950), press release no. 179, is a Nigerien politician. Elected as the List of heads of state of Niger, fourth President of Niger at 43 years old, he is the youngest elected president in Africa. He was also the f ...

was elected president, defeating the MNSD'

Mamadou Tandja Mamadou Tandja (1938 – 24 November 2020) was a Nigerien politician who was List of heads of state of Niger, President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD) from 1991 to 1999 ...

. In 1995 Ousmane called early

parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

, which saw it gain two seats, but remain the second largest party behind the MNSD. In January 1996 he was ousted in a coup. In

held in July that year, Ousmane finished second to coup leader

Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara (9 May 1949 – 9 April 1999) was a Nigerien military officer and diplomat who ruled Niger from 1996 until his assassination. He seized and lost power in military coups. Baré Maïnassara, a Maouri, a subgro ...

. The party boycotted the

later that year. Since 1999, the CDS has been in an alliance with the MNSD, forming part of the parliamentary majority and participating in the government; it did not nominate a presidential candidate in the 1999 general elections, but won 17 seats in the National Assembly, which Ousmane became President of. In the 2004 general elections, Ousmane was the CDS presidential candidate for the fourth time, finishing third with 17.4% of the vote. In the parliamentary elections, the party received 17.4% of the popular vote and won 22 of the 113 seats. Following the election, the MNSD resumed its coalition government with CDS-Rahama, whose 22 seats give the President and Prime Minister a 69-seat majority in the National Assembly, with Ousmane re-elected as President of the National Assembly."President of the National Assembly of Niger Mahamane Ousmane Elected President of the IPU Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians"
Inter-Parliamentary Union, press release no. 179, 15 January 2004. The CDS held its sixth congress on 1 September 2007. On 25 June 2009, after President of Niger

dismissed the National Assembly over his plans to hold a constitutional referendum, the CDS announced its final break with the MNSD government. The party withdrew from the government coalition and pulled its eight members from the Nigerien Council of Ministers.Niger president's main ally quits the government
AFP. 25 June 2009. In a statement, the CDS demanded the President definitively submit to the Court's decision. The party also announced the creation of its own opposition coalition, the Movement for the Defence of Democracy (MDD) along with around five smaller parties including the UDR and the PDP. The group was in direct competition with the larger opposition front, the Front for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) led by the PNDS, and staged the two anti-referendum marches in Niamey.Tandja's main ally quits government
The Independent (South Africa)/ Sapa/AFP. 25 June 2009. The party boycotted the October 2009 parliamentary elections. Following a 2010 coup, it ran in the 2011 general elections; Ousmane finished fourth in the presidential ballot with 8% of the vote, whilst the party won only three seats in the National Assembly. In the 2016 general elections the party nominated Abdou Labo as its presidential candidate; he finished seventh in a field of fifteen candidates with 2% of the vote. In the National Assembly elections, the party retained its three seats.

References

{{Authority control 1991 establishments in Niger Political parties established in 1991 Political parties in Niger Social democratic parties in Africa Socialism in Niger