The Republican Party of Dahomey (, PRD) 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, ...

French Dahomey French Dahomey, officially the Colony of Dahomey and Dependencies (), was a French colony and part of French West Africa from 1894 to 1958. After World War II, by the establishment of the French Fourth Republic in 1947, Dahomey became part of ...

led by

Sourou-Migan Apithy Sourou-Migan Marcellin Joseph Apithy (8 April 1913 – 3 December 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 one ...

History

The party was established by Apithy in 1951.Mathurin C Houngnikpo & Samuel Decalo (2012) ''Historical Dictionary of Benin'', Scarecrow Press, p54 It emerged as the largest party in the 1952 Territorial Assembly elections, winning 19 of the 32 second college seats. The party came first in the 1956 French National Assembly elections, returning Apithy to the Assembly. The PRD went on to win the 1957 Territorial Assembly elections, taking 35 of the 60 seats. In 1958 the party merged with the

Dahomeyan Democratic Rally The Dahomeyan Democratic Rally (, RDD) 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 abou ...

(RDD) to form the Dahomeyan Progressive Party, which was to be the Dahomeyan branch of the

African Regroupment Party The African Regroupment Party (, PRA) was a political party in the French African colonies. Formation The PRA came into being at a meeting in Paris on 26 March 1958, months before the French Community would replace the French Union. The main fo ...

. However, internal disagreements led to the parties splitting back into their original forms in 1959.Houngnikpo & Decalo, p306 The PRD also won the 1959 elections, despite receiving fewer votes than the

Dahomeyan Democratic Union The Dahomeyan Democratic Union (, UDD) was a political party in French Dahomey. History The UDD was established in 1955 by a merger of the Dahomeyan Progressive Union (UPD) and the African People's Bloc (BPA). It aimed to be a nationwide part ...

(UDD). Due to accusations of fraud, it later agreed to give nine seats to the UDD, but remained the largest party in the Assembly. In February 1960 it was transformed into the Dahomey Nationalist Party (''Parti des Nationalistes du Dahomey'', PND) after admitting federalists led by

Émile Derlin Zinsou Émile Derlin Zinsou (23 March 1918 – 28 July 2016) was a Beninese politician and physician who was the List of heads of state of Benin, President of Dahomey (now Benin) from 17 July 1968 until 10 December 1969, supported by the military regim ...

. In November 1960 the PND agreed to merge with the RDD and the National Liberation Movement led by

Jean Pliya Jean Pliya (July 21, 1931 – May 14, 2015) was a Beninese playwright and short story writer. Life Born in what was then Dahomey, Pliya was educated at the University of Dakar and then the University of Toulouse. He graduated from the second i ...

and Albert Teveodjré, this time under the name

Dahomeyan Unity Party The Dahomeyan Unity Party (, PDU) was a political party in the Republic of Dahomey. History The party was established on 13 November 1960 by the merger of the Republican Party of Dahomey (PRD) led by Sourou-Migan Apithy, the Dahomeyan Democrat ...

.Houngnikpo & Decalo, p284

References

Political parties established in 1951 Political parties disestablished in 1958 Political parties established in 1959 Political parties disestablished in 1960 Defunct political parties in Benin 1951 establishments in French West Africa 1958 disestablishments in Africa 1959 establishments in Africa 1960 disestablishments in Africa {{Benin-party-stub