The Union for Democracy and Social Progress (, UDPS-Amana) is a centrist

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, ...

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

. With its support base in the

Tuareg people The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; Endonym and exonym, endonym, depending on Tuareg languages#Subclassification, variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berbers, Berber ethnic group, ...

of northern Niger, the party's history is tied to that of the Tuareg rights movements which surrounded the Tuareg insurgencies of 1990–95 and 2007–09. Its slogan, "''Amana''", is a

Hausa language Hausa (; / ; Hausa Ajami, Ajami: ) is a Chadic language spoken primarily by the Hausa people in the northern parts of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin and Togo, and the southern parts of Niger, and Chad, with significant minorities in Ivory Coas ...

word for "Trust"

History

The party was founded in 1990 by

Rhissa Ag Boula Rhissa Ag Boula (born 1957) is a Nigerien Tuareg politician and former leader of rebel factions in both the 1990–1995 and the 2007–2009 Tuareg based Insurgencies. He was Nigerien Minister of Tourism from 1996 to 1999, and again from 1999 to ...

, with Mohamed Abdoullahi becoming party president in 1992. In the 1993 parliamentary elections it received only 463 votes, but won a single seat 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 ...

. Following

Mahamane Ousmane Mahamane Ousmane (born 20 January 1950), press release no. 179, is a Nigerien politician. Elected as the List of heads of state of Niger, fourth President of Niger at 43 years old, he is the youngest elected president in Africa. He was also the f ...

's victory in the subsequent

presidential elections 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 ...

, the party joined the ruling

Alliance of the Forces of Change The Alliance of the Forces of Change (in , AFC) was one of the two large political coalitions which contested for power in Niger from 1991 to 1996. Formation The AFC was formed following the end of military rule in the 1991-1993 transition period. ...

, with the UDPS'

Ben Wahab Aïchatou Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett, Benson or Ebenezer, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben meaning "son of" is also found in Arabic as ''Ben'' (dialectal Arabic) or ''bin ...

became Niger's first female minister when she was appointed Minister of Traditional Commerce and Arts. In the 1995 parliamentary elections the party won two seats after receiving 3% of the vote, and supported the

National Movement for the Development of Society The National Movement for the Society of Development, also known as the National Movement for the Development of Society (, MNSD-Nassara) was a political party in Niger. Founded under the military government of the 1974–1990 period, it was th ...

-led government of

Hama Amadou Hama Amadou (3 March 1950 – 23 October 2024) was a Nigerien politician who was Prime Minister of Niger from 1995 to 1996 and again from 2000 to 2007. He was also Secretary-General of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD- ...

. In 1996 Akoli Daouel became party president and the party won three seats in the early elections that year, after which it supported the ruling party of General

Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara (9 May 1949 – 9 April 1999) was a Nigerien military officer and diplomat who ruled Niger from 1996 until his assassination. He seized and lost power in military coups. Baré Maïnassara, a Maouri, a subgro ...

until 1997.Ibrahim (1999) The 1999 elections saw the party lose its parliamentary representation. It did not participate in the 2004 elections. Rhissa Ag Boula became party president in 2005, serving until 2008. Although the party returned to contest the

2009 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2009. * Electoral calendar 2009 * 2009 United Nations Security Council election Caribbean * 2009 Antiguan general election * 2009 Aruban general election * 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendum ...

, they again failed to win a seat. They did not participate in the 2011 elections. The

2016 elections Africa Benin Republic *2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 April 2016 Djibouti * 2016 Djiboutian presidential ...

saw the party run, but remain seatless after receiving only 0.1% of the vote.

References

{{Nigerien political parties Political parties in Niger 1990 establishments in Niger Political parties established in 1990