The Dahomeyan Democratic Union (french: Union Démocratique Dahoméenne, UDD) was a political party in

French Dahomey French Dahomey was a French colony and part of French West Africa from 1894 to 1958. After World War II, by the establishment of the French Fourth Republic in 1947, Dahomey became part of the French Union with an increased autonomy. On 4 Octobe ...

History

The UDD was established in 1955 by a merger of the Dahomeyan Progressive Union (UPD) and the

African People's Bloc The African People's Bloc (french: Bloc Populaire Africain, BPA) was a political party in French Dahomey. History The party was established in 1946 by Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin and Émile Poisson due to their dissatisfaction with the polici ...

(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 Abomey is the capital of the Zou Department of Benin. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2012, had a population of 90,195 people. Abomey houses the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collection of small traditional ...

and

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

. The party failed to win a seat in the French National Assembly in the

1956 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1956. Africa * 1956 Gold Coast legislative election * 1956 Italian Somaliland parliamentary election * 1956–1957 Kenyan legislative election * 1956 Nyasaland general election Asia * 1956 Burmese gene ...

, and split into two factions later in the year over the issue of affiliation 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 *** Ethn ...

(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.Patrick Manning (2004) ''Slavery, Colonialism and Economic Growth in Dahomey, 1640-1960'', Cambridge University Press, p. 279 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, 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 The Dahomeyan Democratic Rally (french: Rassemblement Démocratique Dahoméen, RDD) was a political party in French Dahomey led by Hubert Maga. History The party was established in August 1957 by a merger of the Dahomeyan Democratic Movement l ...

(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.Mathurin C Houngnikpo & Samuel Decalo (2012) ''Historical Dictionary of Benin'', Scarecrow Press, p. 286 Following the elections, accusations of fraud led to an agreement being reached with 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.Elections in Benin
African Elections Database In

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

held the following year, the

Dahomeyan Unity Party The Dahomeyan Unity Party (french: Parti Dahoméen de l'Unité, PDU) was a political party in the Republic of Dahomey. History The party was established on 13 November 1960 by the merger of the Republican Party of Dahomey (PRD) led by Sourou-M ...

, 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 was banned on 11 April 1961 and Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin was imprisoned.''Dictionary of African Biography'', Oxford University Press, p. 139

References

{{Beninese political parties Defunct political parties in Benin Political parties established in 1955 Political parties disestablished in 1961 Rassemblement Démocratique Africain 1955 establishments in French West Africa