The Dahomeyan Democratic Union ( French : Union Démocratique Dahoméenne , UDD) was a political party in French Dahomey .
6-701: 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 party, but despite initially gaining support from across the country, it quickly became identified as the party of the Fon of Abomey and Cotonou . The party failed to win a seat in the French National Assembly in the 1956 elections , and split into two factions later in
12-716: The 1959 elections produced an unbalanced result; although the UDD received 44% of the vote, more than any other party, it won just 11 of the 70 seats in the Territorial Assembly, whilst the Dahomeyan Democratic Rally (RDD) won 22 seats with 17% of the vote and the Republican Party of Dahomey (PRD) took 37 seats, more than three times the number of the UDD. Following the elections, accusations of fraud led to an agreement being reached with
18-708: The African Democratic Rally , but dropped its link in 1948. A breakaway in 1946 lead to the creation of the African People's Bloc , but the party still won the 1946–47 General Council elections , taking 20 of the 30 seats. Another breakaway occurred between 1950 and 1951, when Hubert Maga left the UPD to establish the Ethnic Group of the North under encouragement from Roger Péperty, the northern area's French administrator. Sourou-Migan Apithy also left
24-628: The PRD to redistribute nine seats. Although this increased the UDD's seat tally to 20, it was still the smallest party in the Assembly. In elections held the following year, the Dahomeyan Unity Party , a merger of the PRD and the RDD, won every seat after President Hubert Maga changed the electoral system, leaving the UDD without parliamentary representation. Following the elections, the UDD
30-576: The year over the issue of affiliation with the African Democratic Rally (RDA); former BPA leader Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin became head of the dominant RDA faction, whilst Alexandre Adandé and former UPD leader Émile Derlin Zinsou headed the smaller UDD-Convention. Despite its internal problems and regionalised support base, the UDD emerged as the second-largest party in the 1957 Territorial Assembly elections , winning seven seats. However,
36-578: Was banned on 11 April 1961 and Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin was imprisoned. Dahomeyan Progressive Union The Dahomeyean Progressive Union ( French : Union Progressiste Dahoméenne , UPD) was a political party in Dahomey . The party was established in April 1946 by Augustin Kokou Azango and Émile Derlin Zinsou , and was the first political party in the territory. It was initially affiliated with
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