The Comorian Union for Progress ( Comorian: ''Udzima'', lit. ''Unity''; french: Union Comorienne pour le Progrès, UCP) is a political party in the Comoros.

History

In 1978, French mercenary

Bob Denard Robert Denard (born Gilbert Bourgeaud; 7 April 1929 – 13 October 2007) was a French soldier of fortune and mercenary. He served as the Military Leader of The Comoros twice with him first serving from 13 May 1978 to 15 December 1989 and agai ...

staged a coup d'etat against the

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

government of

Ali Soilih Ali Soilih M'Tsashiwa ( ar, علي صويلح; January 7, 1937 – May 29, 1978) was a Comorian socialist revolutionary and political figure who served as the 3rd President of the Comoros from 3 January 1976 to 13 May 1978. Biography Soilih ...

, bringing

Ahmed Abdallah Ahmed Abdallah Abderemane ( ar, أحمد عبد الله عبد الرحمن, , 12 June 1919 – 26 November 1989) was a Comorian politician. He was a member of the French Senate from 1959 to 1973, and President of the Comoros from 25 Octobe ...

back to power. In February 1982, Abdallah banned all existing political parties and created the UCP. In subsequent elections a month later, the UCP won 37 of 38 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 rep ...

, with the other seat going to an independent. In the 1987 parliamentary elections the UCP won all 42 seats. Another coup by Denard in 1989 brought

Said Mohamed Djohar Said Mohammed Djohar ( ar, سعيد محمد جوهر 22 August 1918 – 22 February 2006) was a Comorian politician who served as the 4th President of the Comoros from 1989 to 1995. Climb to power Born in Majunga, Madagascar, Djohar w ...

, who was also part of the UCP. Multi-party politics was introduced in 1990 and Djohar was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...

President. However, Djohar renounced the party in 1991. The party boycotted the 1992 parliamentary elections in protest at the government's refusal to update the voter roll. However, it did contest the early elections the following year, winning two seats. The party was dissolved in October 1996 when it merged into the

National Rally for Development The National Rally for Development (french: Rassemblement National pour le Développement, RND) was a political party in the Comoros. History The RND was established on 6 October 1996 as a merger of the National Union for Democracy in the Comoros ...

.Comoros islands: Constitutional referendum
African Intelligence, 12 October 1996 However, the party was later reformed, and contested the 2015 parliamentary elections, failing to win a seat. It nominated Said Ahmed Said Ali as its candidate for the 2016 presidential elections, but he failed to progress beyond the

Grande Comore Grande Comore () is an island in Comoros off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, which is ...

primary, only receiving 0.5% of the vote.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Assembly elections

References

Nationalist parties in Africa Political parties in the Comoros Parties of one-party systems Political parties established in 1982 Political parties disestablished in 1996 1982 establishments in the Comoros 1996 disestablishments in the Comoros {{Africa-party-stub