The Union of Democratic and Progressive Patriots (, UPDP-Chamoua) 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, ...

in Niger, founded and led by André Salifou, who has run for president on several occasions.Jibrin Ibrahim and Abdoulayi Niandou Souley
"The rise to power of an opposition party: the MNSD in Niger Republic"
Unisa Press, Politeia, Vol. 15, No. 3, 1996. The party held 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 ...

between 1993 and 1999.

History

The party was established on 11 December 1990. It received 3% of the vote in the 1993 parliamentary elections, winning two seats. Although Salifou had been provisional head of state during the transition to democratic rule in 1991. Since Salifou's position barred him from standing in the 1993 presidential elections, the party nominated Illa Kané as its candidate; he finished fifth in the eight-candidate field with 3% of the vote.African Elections Database: Niger
Accessed 2009-05-22. Following the elections the UPDP went into opposition until 1995. In the 1995 parliamentary elections, the party was reduced to a single seat, with Salifou elected in Zinder. Following the 1996 coup, the party did not participate in the 1996 presidential elections, but did contest the

parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

later in the year. Due to a boycott by the main opposition, the party won four seats, its best-ever result. In the 1999 general elections that followed another coup, Salifou ran for president again, finishing sixth out of seven candidates with 2% of the vote. It fared worse in the parliamentary elections, where the party's vote share was only 0.6%, resulting in it losing all four seats. The party did not nominate a presidential candidate in the 2004 general elections, and remained seatless after receiving only 0.2% of the vote in the parliamentary elections. However, Salifou was given a role in

Tandja Mamadou Mamadou Tandja (1938 – 24 November 2020) was a Nigerien politician who was President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD) from 1991 to 1999 and unsuccessfully ran as the MN ...

's government."Nominations: André Salifou, nommé représentant spécial d’ Amara Essy et Lansana Kouyaté, nommé représentant spécial de l’OIF pour la Côte d’Ivoire"
, ''Afrique Express'', N° 264, February 17, 2003 . The 2009 parliamentary elections saw the party's vote share fall to just 0.04%. It did not contest the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

or 2016 general elections.

References

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