The Union of Forces for Change () is an opposition
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
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...
. The President of the UFC was
Gilchrist Olympio[Profile of Olympio at UFC website]
and its Secretary-General was
Jean-Pierre Fabre until 10 August 2010. Olympio is the son of the first President of Togo,
Sylvanus Olympio, who was assassinated in a 1963 coup. On 10 August 2010,
Jean-Pierre Fabre was elected as President of the party.
History
The UFC was founded by Olympio as a federation of parties on 1 February 1992.
["Historique du mouvement patriotique togolais"]
UFC website Olympio was barred from standing in the
August 1993 presidential election on a technicality.
[ The UFC boycotted the February 1994 parliamentary election.][ Olympio was able to run in the June 1998 presidential election, placing second with 34% of the vote, behind long-time President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, according to official results; the UFC alleged fraud, however. The UFC boycotted the March 1999 parliamentary election,][''Political Parties of the World'' (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, page 592] and it also participated in an opposition boycott of the next parliamentary election
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 ...
, held on 27 October 2002.[
Emmanuel Bob-Akitani, the First Vice-president of the UFC, was the main opposition candidate in the June 2003 presidential election and the April 2005 presidential election, acting as a surrogate candidate for Olympio, who was banned from running because he had lived in exile for several years. He officially received 38.1% of the vote on the latter occasion, losing to , son of the deceased Eyadéma, amidst opposition claims of a rigged vote.
The UFC decided not to join the national unity government under Prime Minister ]Yawovi Agboyibo
Yawovi Madji Agboyibo (31 December 1943, Republicoftogo.com, 11 January 2007 .30 May 2020) was a Togolese attorney and politician. He served as Heads of Government of Togo, Prime Minister of Togo from September 2006 to December 2007 and was Nati ...
in September 2006, although many in the party were reportedly unhappy with Olympio's decision in this regard. The party's Second Vice-president, Amah Gnassingbé, accepted a post in the government as Minister of State and was suspended from the UFC as a result.
The party participated in the October 2007 parliamentary election, the first time it participated in a parliamentary election since multiparty elections began to be held in the early 1990s. The party won 27 out of 81 seats, behind the ruling Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), which won a majority. The UFC alleged irregularities in vote counting and, following the confirmation of the results by the Constitutional Court, UFC Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Fabré, described the results as "neither credible nor acceptable" and said that they did not represent the people's will.
At the UFC's Second Ordinary Congress, held in Nyékonakpoé, Lomé
Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437 on 18–19 July 2008, Olympio was re-elected as National President of the UFC; he was also unanimously chosen as the party's candidate for the 2010 presidential election. Also at this congress, Jean-Pierre Fabré was re-elected as Secretary-General; Patrick Lawson was elected as First Vice-president, while Bob-Akitani was named Honorary President.
Electoral history
Presidential elections
National Assembly elections
References
External links
Official website
{{Togolese political parties
1992 establishments in Togo
Political parties established in 1992
Political parties in Togo
Social democratic parties in Africa
Socialism in Togo