Social Democratic Rally

Niger
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The Social Democratic Rally (French: Rassemblement social démocratique, RSD-Gaskiya) is a political party in Niger. Its president is Amadou Cheiffou and its first secretary-general is Mahamadou Ali Tchémogo.[1]

History

The RSD-Gaskiya was founded by Cheiffou in January 2004 as a split from the Democratic and Social Convention (CDS),[2] and fared well in the July 2004 municipal elections.[3][4] In the 2004 general elections Cheiffou was nominated as the RSD candidate, receiving 6.35% of the vote and placing fourth out of six candidates; the party subsequently backed incumbent President Mamadou Tandja in the second round,[5] which he won with 66% of the vote. In the parliamentary elections the RSD-Gaskiya receive 7.1% of the vote, winning seven of the 113 seats in the National Assembly.

In May 2009, the party was one of a handful of parties that supported President Tandja's call for a referendum to create a new constitution that would remove term limits on the presidency.[1] After the referendum, the party placed second in the October 2009 parliamentary election amidst an opposition boycott; receiving 16% of the vote, it won 15 seats. Cheiffou was the RSD presidential candidate again for the 2011 general elections; he finished fifth in a field of ten candidates with 4% of the vote. In the parliamentary elections the party lost all 15 seats as its vote share fell to 1.8%.

The 2016 general elections saw Cheiffou run for the presidency again, finishing eighth out of fifteen candidates with 1.8% of the vote. However, the party regained parliamentary representation, winning four seats in the National Assembly.

References

  1. 1 2 Aïcha Abdoulaye Alfary, "Déclaration du bureau politique national du RSD-Gaskiya: Le parti soutient le Président de la République pour soumettre au peuple une nouvelle constitution", Le Sahel, 25 May 2009 (in French).
  2. ↑ "Cassure au sein du parti de Mahamane Ousmane, Amadou Cheiffou crée son propre parti" Archived 2007-06-29 at the Wayback Machine., Afrique Express, number 286, January 20, 2004 (in French).
  3. ↑ Cherif Ouazani, "Six candidats pour un fauteuil", Jeune Afrique, November 7, 2004 (in French).
  4. ↑ Saïdou Djibril, "Niger : six candidats dans la course à la présidentielle" Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine., Afriqu'Echoes, November 6, 2004 (in French).
  5. ↑ "Présidentielle au Niger: un quatrième parti, le RDP, soutient la candidature de Mamadou Tandja au second tour" Archived 2009-06-08 at WebCite, Xinhua, November 23, 2004 (in French).
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