The Union for Democracy and Social Progress (, UDPS-Amana) is a centrist

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country'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 ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesTuareg people The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Al ...

of northern Niger, the party's history is tied up with that of the Tuareg rights movements which surrounded the Tuareg insurgencies of 1990–95 and 2007–09. Its slogan, "''Amana''", is a

Hausa language Hausa (; /; Ajami: ) is a Chadic language spoken by the Hausa people in the northern half of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin and Togo, and the southern half of Niger, Chad and Sudan, with significant minorities in Ivory Coast. Hausa is a member ...

word for "Trust"

History

The party was founded in 1990 by

Rhissa Ag Boula Rhissa Ag Boula is a Nigerien Tuareg people, Tuareg politician and former leader of rebel factions in both the Tuareg Rebellion (1990–1995), 1990–1995 and the Tuareg Rebellion (2007–2009), 2007–2009 Tuareg based Insurgencies. He was Nigerie ...

, with Mohamed Abdoullahi becoming party president in 1992. In the 1993 parliamentary elections it received only 463 votes, but won a single seat 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 repre ...

. Following

Mahamane Ousmane Mahamane Ousmane (born 20 January 1950), press release no. 179, is a Nigerien politician. He was the first democratically elected and fourth President of Niger, serving from 16 April 1993, U.S. Department of State. until he was deposed in a mili ...

's victory in subsequent the

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 pr ...

the party joined the ruling Alliance of the Forces of Change, with the UDPS' Ben Wahab Aïchatou became Niger's first female minister when she was appointed Minister of Traditional Commerce and Arts. In the 1995 parliamentary elections the party won two seats after receiving 3% of the vote, and supported the

National Movement for the Development of Society The National Movement for the Development of Society (french: Mouvement National pour la Société du Développement, MNSD-Nassara) is a political party in Niger. Founded under the military government of the 1974–1990 period, it was the ruling ...

-led government of

Hama Amadou Hama Amadou (born 1949) is a Nigerien politician who was Prime Minister of Niger from 1995 to 1996 and again from 2000 to 2007. He was also Secretary-General of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD-Nassara) from 1991 to 200 ...

. In 1996 Akoli Daouel became party president and the party won three seats in the early elections that year, after which it supported the ruling party of General

Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara (May 9, 1949 – April 9, 1999) was a military officer and diplomat in Niger who ruled the country from his seizure of power in 1996 until his assassination during the military coup of April 1999. Baré Maïn ...

until 1997.Ibrahim (1999) The

1999 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1999. * 1999 electoral calendar Africa * 1999 Algerian presidential election * 1999 Botswana general election * 1999 Beninese parliamentary election * 1999 Central African Republic presidential elect ...

saw the party lose its parliamentary representation. It did not participate in the 2004 elections. Rhissa Ag Boula became party president in 2005, serving until 2008. Although the party returned to contest the

2009 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2009. * Electoral calendar 2009 * 2009 United Nations Security Council election Caribbean * 2009 Antiguan general election * 2009 Aruban general election * 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendu ...

, they again failed to win a seat. They did not participate in the 2011 elections. The 2016 elections saw the party run, but remain seatless after receiving only 0.1% of the vote.

References

{{Nigerien political parties Political parties in Niger 1990 establishments in Niger Political parties established in 1990