Rassemblement Des Republicains
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Rally of the Republicans (french: Rassemblement des Républicains; abbreviated RDR) is a liberal party in
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 i ...
(). The party is the country's governing party; the party's leader,
Alassane Ouattara Alassane Dramane Ouattara (; ; born 1 January 1942) is an Ivorian politician who has been President of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) since 2010. An economist by profession, Ouattara worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)President of Ivory Coast This article lists the heads of state of Ivory Coast, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, since the country gained independence from France in 1960. Alassane Ouattara has been serving as President of Ivory Coast since 4 December 2010. ...
.


History

The RDR, which has most of its support in the north of the country, was formed as a liberal offshoot of the ruling party, the
Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
(PDCI), in mid-1994. Djéni Kobina became the new party's Secretary-General. The RDR sought for Ouattara, who had served as Prime Minister from 1990 to 1993, to become its candidate in the 1995 presidential election. However, amendments to the electoral code required presidential candidates to have lived in the country for five years and to have been born of Ivorian parents. It was thought that these provisions were specifically intended to keep Ouattara out of the running; he had been deputy managing director of the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
for almost five years and his father's family had roots in
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...
. For this reason the RDR boycotted the election. The RDR held its first ordinary congress on July 2–3, 1995,Coulibaly Brahima
"Côte d'Ivoire: Organisation du 2ème congrès ordinaire du Rdr, des cadres manoeuvrent pour le report"
''Nord-Sud'', July 27, 2007 .
at which Ouattara was nominated as its presidential candidate. Following Kobina's death, the party held its first extraordinary congress in January 1999 to elect a new Secretary-General. Ouattara was elected President of the RDR on August 1, 1999 at the second extraordinary congress of the party, and he was designated as the party's candidate for the next presidential election. Ouattara said that he was eligible to stand in this election, scheduled to be held in 2000, pointing to documents which he said demonstrated that he and his parents were of Ivorian birth, as required by the electoral code. He was accused of forging these papers, however, and an investigation was begun. His nationality certificate was annulled by a court in October 1999 and an arrest warrant for Ouattara was issued a month later, although he was in France at the time."Côte d'Ivoire: Former Prime Minister returns home"
IRIN, January 4, 2000.
The RDR demonstrated in favor of Ouattara's candidacy; a demonstration in Abidjan reported as being 10,000 strong was held on September 27. A number of RDR leaders, including the party's Secretary-General,
Henriette Diabate Henriette may refer to: *Princess Henriette of France *Henriette of Cleves *Henriette Willemina Crommelin (1870-1957), Dutch labor leader and temperance reformer *Henriette Dibon (1902–1989), French poet and short story writer. *Henriette Hansen ...
, were arrested on October 27 on the grounds that they were responsible for violence occurring during protests they organized; in November, they were convicted and sentenced to prison. When soldiers rebelled on December 23, 1999, one of their demands was the release of the imprisoned RDR leaders; when President
Henri Konan Bédié Aimé Henri Konan Bédié (born 5 May 1934) is an Ivorian politician. He was President of Ivory Coast from 1993 to 1999. He is currently the President of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast - African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA).
rejected the demands, they seized power on December 24 and promptly released the RDR prisoners. Ouattara returned to Ivory Coast on December 29, hailing Bédié's ouster as a "revolution supported by all the Ivorian people". Despite Ouattara's support for the coup, his candidacy in the October 2000 presidential election was rejected by the Supreme Court, on the same nationality basis that was used to prevent his candidacy during Bédié's presidency. As a result, the RDR decided to boycott the presidential election."Côte d'Ivoire: Former, current presidents address reconciliation forum"
IRIN, November 14, 2001.
It also boycotted the
parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
held on 10 December 2000 and 14 January 2001, but nevertheless won five out of 225 seats. The RDR is a full member of the
Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism around ...
, which it joined at the Liberal International's Dakar Congress in 2003. On May 18, 2005, despite their history of hostility, the RDR and the PDCI signed an agreement to form a coalition, the
Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace The Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (french: Rassemblement des houphouëtistes pour la démocratie et la paix, RHDP) is a political party in Ivory Coast. History The RHDP was established as a political alliance on 18 May 2005, s ...
, along with two smaller parties, the Union for Democracy and Peace in Côte d'Ivoire (UDPCI) and the
Movement of the Forces of the Future The Movement of the Forces of the Future (french: Mouvement des Forces d'Avenir, MFA) is a political party in Côte d'Ivoire. The MFA was founded by Innocent Anaky in December 1992. In the parliamentary election held on 10 December 2000 and 14 Ja ...
(MFA), ahead of the presidential election then planned for October 2005. Ouattara was designated as the RDR's presidential candidate at its Second Ordinary Congress on February 1–3, 2008 and also re-elected as President of the RDR for another five years. At the congress, he invited the former rebel
Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire The Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire (English: ''New Forces of Ivory Coast''; abbreviated FNCI, FN or FAFN) is a political coalition that was formed in December 2002, in the wake of the first peace accords of the Ivorian Civil War. Compositio ...
(New Forces) to team up with the RDR for the election."Alassane Ouattara prêt à s'associer aux ex-rebelles"
Agence France-Presse, February 3, 2008.
In the first round of the 2010 presidential elections, Ouattara finished second, behind incumbent
Laurent Gbagbo Koudou Laurent Gbagbo
, FPI website .
( a major political crisis that only ended with Gbagbo's capture on 11 April 2011. Between 2012 and 2016, the RDR's
Fadika Sarra Sako Fadika Sarra Sako is an Ivorian politician. She studied at the Kybourg School in Geneva, Switzerland. Between 2011 and 2016, Sako was a member of parliament for the Rally of the Republicans. She was elected as Vice-President of the National Assemb ...
served as Vice-President of the National Assembly. At the RDR's Third Ordinary Congress on 9–10 September 2017, it was expected that Ouattara would be elected as President of the RDR, but he instead proposed Henriette Diabaté for the post, and she was duly elected by acclamation. Kandia Camara was designated as Secretary-General and Amadou Gon Coulibaly as First Vice-President.


Congress of Republican Women

Aya Virginie Toure was elected President of the Rally of Republican Women with a majority vote of 59%.


References


External links


Rally of the Republicans
official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Rally Of The Republicans Liberal parties in Africa Centrist parties in Africa Political parties in Ivory Coast Political parties established in 1994 1994 establishments in Ivory Coast