The Rally of Democratic Forces (french: Rassemblement des Forces Démocratiques, RFD), or Assembly of Democratic Forces, is a

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 ...

in Mauritania. It is led by

Ahmed Ould Daddah Ahmed Ould Daddah ( ar, أحمد ولد داده, born 7 August 1942Marwane ben Yahmed"Les vérités d’Ahmed Ould Daddah", '' Jeuneafrique.com'', February 18, 2007 .) is a Mauritanian economist and a politician. He is a half-brother of Moktar ...

. In October 2000, the

Union of Democratic Forces-New Era The Union of Democratic Forces-New Era (''Union des Forces Démocratiques-Ère Nouvelle'') was a political party in Mauritania, founded in 1991 and dissolved in 2000. The secretary-general of the party was Ahmed Ould Daddah. In February 1997 the f ...

, which was led by Daddah, was dissolved by the government for allegedly inciting violence and harming the country's interests. In its place the Rally of Democratic Forces was established, and Daddah was elected its president in January 2002. In the parliamentary election held on October 19 and 26 October 2001, the party won 5.6% of the popular vote and 3 out of 81 seats. Daddah declared the RFD to be "the country's biggest political force" after the first round of the

2006 Mauritanian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Mauritania on 19 November, with a second round 3 December 2006. At least 28 political parties competed to comprise the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly; Islamist parties were banned, but many ...

, held on 19 November. The RFD participated in this election as part of an eight party opposition alliance. It won 15 out of 95 seats in the 21 January and 4 February 2007

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

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 ...

7 out of 56 seats. In the 11 March and 25 March 2007

presidential election 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 ...

, Daddah, the party's candidate, won 20.69% in the first round, but was defeated in the second round with 47.15%. Daddah said on May 7, 2008, that the RFD would not participate in the government of Prime Minister

Yahya Ould Ahmed El Waghef Yahya Ould Ahmed El Waghef ( ar, يحيى ولد أحمد الواقف; born 1960
as Prime Minister, Agence Mauritanienne d'Inform ...

, despite Waghef's consultations with opposition parties regarding the formation of a government. The RFD supported the

military coup d'état A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

of August 6, 2008. Daddah described the coup as "a movement to rectify the democratic process" and alleged that the 2007 presidential election was "marked by fraud". The RFD is an observer member of the

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political philosophy that su ...

."Socialist International welcomes release of Mauritanian opposition leader"
Socialist International, February 4, 2005.

References

{{Mauritanian political parties Full member parties of the Socialist International Social democratic parties in Africa Socialist parties in Mauritania