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 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 ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesTuareg people The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...

of northern Niger, the party's history is tied up with that of the Tuareg rights movements which surrounded the Tuareg insurgencies of 1990–95 and 2007–09. Its slogan, "''Amana''", is a Hausa language word for "Trust"

History

The party was founded in 1990 by

Rhissa Ag Boula Rhissa Ag Boula 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 1996-1999, and again from 1999-2004. His arrest ...

, with

Mohamed Abdoullahi Muhammad was an Islamic prophet and a religious and political leader who preached and established Islam. Muhammad and variations may also refer to: * Muhammad (name), a given name and surname, and list of people with the name and its variations ...

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 rep ...

. Following Mahamane Ousmane's victory in subsequent the

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 french: Alliance des forces du changement, 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 ...

, with the UDPS' Ben Wahab Aïchatou 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-led government of

Hama Amadou Hama Amadou (born 1949) is 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-Nassara) from 1991 to 200 ...

. 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 until 1997.Ibrahim (1999) The 1999 elections saw the party lose its parliamentary representation. It did not participate in the

2004 elections 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

. Rhissa Ag Boula became party president in 2005, serving until 2008. Although the party returned to contest the 2009 elections, they again failed to win a seat. They did not participate in the

2011 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2011. * Local electoral calendar 2011 * National electoral calendar 2011 * 2011 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 2011 Beninese presidential election * 2011 Beninese parliamentary el ...

. The

2016 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2016. 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 A ...

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