The Union for Democracy and Progress (, , UDP) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

. The UDP is led by

Naha Mint Mouknass Naha bint Mouknass (; born 10 March 1969) is a Mauritanian politician. She was the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mauritania, serving in this capacity between 2009 and 2011. Early life and education Bint Mouknass was born in 19 ...

."Mauritanie: L'UDP affirme son indépendance"
Panapress (afriquenligne.fr), 1 March 2008 . As of 2023, the UDP has 10 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 repr ...

of Mauritania.

History

The party was founded on June 11, 1993, by former Minister Hamdi Ould Mouknass (Naha's father) who previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under President

Moktar Ould Daddah Moktar Ould Daddah (; December 25, 1924 – October 14, 2003) was a Mauritanian politician who served as the country's first President after it gained its independence from France. Moktar served as the country's first List of prime ministers of Ma ...

."Un parti quitte la majorité présidentielle en Mauritanie"
African Press Agency, 17 June 2008 . In the 2001 parliamentary elections, the party received 8.1% of the popular vote and won three lf the 81 seats. In the 2006 parliamentary elections, it won three of the 95 seats, whilst in the

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 el ...

elections in 2007 This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

it won only one of the 56 seats. The party supported

Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi (‎; 193822 November 2020) was a Mauritania, Mauritanian politician who was List of heads of state of Mauritania, President of Mauritania from 2007 to 2008. He served in the government during the 1970s, and ...

in the March 2007 presidential election and was part of the presidential majority following his victory. However, after the formation of the government of Prime Minister Yahya Ahmed Ould El Waghef in May 2008, the party left the presidential majority in June 2008, objecting to the composition of the government. It said that, while the opposition had been brought into the government, the UDP had been marginalized; the party also said that "the hope for change born on August 3, 2005 has been compromised", referring to the ouster of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya Mu'awiya Ould Sid'Ahmed al-Taya (born 28 November 1941) is a Mauritanian military officer and politician who served as the President of Mauritania from 1984 to 2005. He also served as the fifth Prime minister of Mauritania from 1981 to 19 ...

on that date.

Electoral performance

National Assembly

References

Political parties in Mauritania Political parties established in 1993 1993 establishments in Africa {{Mauritania-party-stub