The People's Rally for Progress (; , RPP) is 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, ...

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

. It has dominated politics in the country since 1979, initially under the rule of President

Hassan Gouled Aptidon Hassan Gouled Aptidon (; ; October 15, 1916 – November 21, 2006) was the first President of Djibouti from 1977 to 1999. Biography He was born in the small village of Gerisa in the Lughaya district in British Somaliland. He was born into the ...

. Today it is led by President

Ismaïl Omar Guelleh Ismaïl Omar Guelleh (; ; born 27 November 1947) is a Djiboutian politician who has served as the President of Djibouti since 1999, making him one of the longest-serving rulers in Africa. He is often referred to by his initials, IOG. Guelleh wa ...

and is in a coalition government with

Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy The Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (, FRUD; ) is a political party in Djibouti. It is aligned with the interests of the Afar people who live in the country, although it has supporters residing outside of Djibouti. History Upr ...

(FRUD) and other parties. The RPP tends to hold more influence among the Issa population. The RPP was founded in Dikhil on March 4, 1979."Récit d’une journée commémorant les 25 ans d’existence du RPP"
''La Nation'' (Djibouti), March 8, 2004 . It was declared the sole legal party in October 1981, retaining this status until multiparty politics was introduced in the September 1992 referendum. At the party congress held on 19–20 March 1997, Gouled Aptidon was re-elected as RPP President and a 125-member Central Committee was elected. It contested the December 1997 parliamentary election in alliance with the moderate faction of FRUD (which had signed a peace agreement with the government in December 1994), and this alliance won 79% of the vote, taking all 65 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 ...

. On February 4, 1999, President Gouled Aptidon announced that he would retire at the time of the next election, and an extraordinary congress of the RPP, chose Guelleh as its presidential candidate. As the joint candidate of the RPP and moderate wing of the

(FRUD), Guelleh won the

presidential election 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 p ...

held on April 9, 1999 with 74% of the vote, defeating his only challenger, the independent candidate

Moussa Ahmed Idriss Moussa (sometimes spelled Mousa) is both a given name and a surname. It is a Gallicized spelling of the Arabic name '' Mūsā'' (, "Moses"). Notable people with the name include: Moussa * Moussa Ag Amastan (1867-1920), Amenokal of the Kel Ahaggar ...

. In the

parliamentary election 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 ...

held on 10 January 2003, the party was part of the Union for a Presidential Majority (''Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle'', UMP), that won 63% of the popular vote and all 65 seats. The RPP opened its Eighth Ordinary Congress on March 4, 2004, coinciding with the party's 25th anniversary. At this congress, Guelleh was unanimously re-elected as RPP President by acclamation for another three-year term, and the RPP Central Committee was expanded from 180 to 250 members. On March 4, 2007, the RPP held its Ninth Ordinary Congress; Guelleh was again re-elected as RPP President, and three women were added to the Political Bureau, expanding it to 17 members. It contested the February 2008 parliamentary election together with its UMP coalition partners,IPU-PARLINE page for 2008 election

, ''La Nation'', 16 January 2008 . and the UMP again won all 65 seats amidst an opposition boycott.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

National Assembly elections

References

External links

Official website (archived 20 October 2019)
{{Authority control Political parties in Djibouti Parties of one-party systems 1979 establishments in Djibouti Political parties established in 1979

Electoral history

Presidential elections

National Assembly elections

See also

References

External links