The Sudanese Union – African Democratic Rally (US-RDA) () 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, ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

History

The party was formed in 1945 by

Mamadou Konaté Mamadou Konate (1897 in Kati, Mali – May 11, 1956 in Bamako) was a politician from Mali who served in the French National Assembly from 1946-1956.Jean Clauzel La France d'outre-mer ( 1930 - 1960 ): Témoignages - 2003 Page 318 "Mamadou Konaté ...

and Modibo Keita under the name Sudanese Bloc (''Bloc Soudanais''). The following year, they affiliated themselves with the

African Democratic Rally African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** List ...

(RDA), the interterritorial coalition of anti-colonial political parties active in

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

. The 1957 elections saw the US-RDA win 57 of the 70 seats. Shortly after the elections, the Union of the Populations of Bandiagara merged into the US-RDA, giving it a total of 64 seats. When Konaté died in 1958, Keita gained full control of the party. The 1959 elections saw the US-RDA win all 80 seats in the Legislative Assembly, and it became the sole legal party the following year.

Elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

were held in 1964, but with no opposition, the party retained all 80 seats. Following a coup in 1968 by

Moussa Traoré Moussa Traoré (25 September 1936 – 15 September 2020) was a Malian military officer, politician, and dictator who served as the second President of Mali from 1968 to 1991. As a lieutenant, he led the military ousting of President Modibo Ke� ...

, the party was banned. Over the next two decades, the US-RDA remained underground until re-emerging in 1990, when it joined the growing democratic movement against Traoré's dictatorship, becoming part of the

Alliance for Democracy in Mali The Alliance for Democracy in Mali – African Party for Solidarity and Justice (, ADEMA-PASJ) is a political party in Mali. On October 25, 1990, opponents of the dictatorship of Moussa Traoré joined together as ADEMA.Mamadou FofanaHistory page ...

(ADEMA). In the 1992 parliamentary elections, the first multi-party vote since 1959, the US-RDA won eight of the 129 seats, emerging as the third-largest party behind ADEMA (76 seats) and the

National Congress for Democratic Initiative The National Congress for Democratic Initiative (; ) is a political party in Mali, founded in 1990 and led by Mountaga Tall. In the first presidential election following the transition to democracy, held in 1992, Mountaga Tali received 11.41% of ...

(9). The party put forward Tiéoulé Mamadou Konaté as its candidate for the 1992 presidential elections. He finished in second place in the first round of voting, but was beaten by ADEMA's

Alpha Oumar Konaré Alpha Oumar Konaré (born 2 February 1946) is a Malian politician, professor, historian and archaeologist, who served as President of Mali for two five-year terms from 1992 to 2002 and was Chairperson of the African Union Commission from 2003 ...

in the run-off by 69% to 31%. The May 1997 presidential elections saw the party nominate

Seydou Kouyate Seydou is the Francophonic-orthography variant of the Arabic name Sa'id, commonly used in West Africa. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Seydou * Seydou Barry (1943–2007), Senegalese painter *Seydou Bouda (born ...

as its candidate, but he finished sixth with just 1.6% of the vote. The party boycotted the July 1997 parliamentary elections, following the annulment of the April 1997 elections. In 1998 the party split into two factions, one of which followed Daba Diawara to become the Independence, Democracy and Solidarity Party (PIDS) in 2001. The US-RDA contested the 2002 parliamentary elections as part of the Convergence for Alternation and Change alliance, which won 10 seats. The party joined the Alliance for Democracy and Progress for the 2007 parliamentary elections. The alliance won 113 seats, of which the US-RDA took one. In August 2010 it merged with the

Bloc for Democracy and African Integration The Bloc for Democracy and African Integration () was a political party in Mali. History The party was established in April 1993. The 2007 elections saw the party affiliate with the Alliance for Democracy and Progress that supported President Ama ...

to form the

Malian Union for the African Democratic Rally The Malian Union for the African Democratic Rally (, UM-RDA) is a political party in Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in ...

.Mali: Defunct political parties
EISA

Electoral history

Presidential elections

National Assembly elections

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudanese Union - African Democratic Rally Sections of the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain Defunct political parties in Mali Formerly banned socialist parties Pan-Africanism in Mali Pan-Africanist political parties in Africa Parties of one-party systems Socialism in Mali Communist parties in Mali 1945 establishments in French Sudan Political parties established in 1945 Political parties disestablished in 2010