United Democratic Party (The Gambia)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2012) |
United Democratic Party | |
|---|---|
| File:United Democratic Party (Gambia) logo.gif | |
| Abbreviation | UDP |
| Leader | Ousainou Darboe |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Ideology | Human rights Constitutionalism Grassroots democracy Social democracy |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| International affiliation | Socialist International (consultative) |
| National Assembly | 27 / 58
|
| Website | |
| www | |
The United Democratic Party (abbreviated UDP) is a political party in the Gambia, founded in 1996 by the human rights lawyer Ousainou Darboe. As a candidate in the presidential election of 18 October 2001, he came second with 32.6% of the popular vote; he took second place again in the 22 September 2006 presidential election with 26.7% of the vote. The 17 January 2002 parliamentary election was boycotted by the party. In the 25 January 2007 parliamentary election, the party won four out of 48 seats.[1]
After Darboe was jailed in April 2016 for his political activities in opposition to the ruling government of Yahyah Jammeh[2] and his Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction party, the previous UDP treasurer Adama Barrow was selected as its leader and candidate for the 2016 presidential election. The UDP then became part of the opposition alliance known as Coalition 2016, a group of seven political parties, and the Coalition endorsed Barrow as its candidate. Barrow officially resigned from the party to allow him to run as a formally independent candidate endorsed by the Coalition. Barrow then won the election in a surprise victory. When Jammeh refused to accept the election result, he was forced from office by a regional military intervention, and when Barrow took office, Darboe was released from prison.
Electoral history
Presidential elections
| Election date | Party candidate | Number of votes received | Percentage of votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Ousainou Darboe | 141,387 | 35.84% |
| 2001 | Ousainou Darboe | 149,448 | 32.59% |
| 2006 | Ousainou Darboe | 104,808 | 26.7% |
| 2011 | Ousainou Darboe | 114,177 | 17.4% |
| 2016 | Adama Barrow | 227,708 | 43.3% |
Parliamentary Elections
| Election | Votes | Vote % | Seats | Outcome of election |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 104,568 | 33.97% | 7 / 49
|
APRC majority |
| 2002 | boycotted | 0 / 53
|
APRC majority | |
| 2007 | 57,545 | 21.8% | 4 / 53
|
APRC majority |
| 2012 | boycotted | 0 / 53
|
APRC majority | |
| 2017 | 142,146 | 37.47 | 31 / 58
|
UDP majority |
References
- ^ Elections in the Gambia, African Elections Database.
- ^ "Gambia opposition leader jailed". BBC News. 21 July 2016.
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| Other parties |
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| Defunct parties | |||
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