Democratic Union of the Malian People

The Democratic Union of the Malian People (French: Union Démocratique du Peuple Malien, UDPM) was a military-backed political party in Mali.[1] Its main organ was the daily newspaper L'Essor – La Voix du Peuple, which had a circulation of 40,000. It was the largest newspaper in the country during the mid-1980s.[2]

Democratic Union of the Malian People
Union démocratique du peuple malien
Founded1975 (1975)
Dissolved1991 (1991)
Preceded byCMLN
HeadquartersBamako, Mali
NewspaperL'Essor – La Voix du Peuple

History

The party was founded by the CMLN military junta in order to provide the regime with political legitimacy. Moussa Traoré announced the party's formation on 22 September 1975, with himself as general secretary.[3] Upon the restoration of civilian rule in 1979, it became the only legal party in Mali.

The UDPM borrowed from Modibo Keïta's conception of democratic centralism and organized itself along the lines of Marxism–Leninism, although it never identified itself as a Marxist party. UDPM had a Central Executive Bureau with 19 members and a National Council with 137 members.[3] As the party's general secretary, Traoré was the only candidate for president of the republic. He was automatically elected for a six-year term and confirmed in office in the 1979 general elections, whilst voters were presented with a single list of UDPM candidates for the National Assembly. This was repeated in elections in 1982, 1985 and 1988.

Following a coup by Amadou Toumani Touré in 1991, the party was dissolved in the same year.

Electoral history

Presidential Elections
Election Party candidate Votes % Result
1979 Moussa Traoré 3,298,477 100% Elected Green tickY
1985 100% Elected Green tickY

National Assembly elections
Election Party leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Result
1979 Moussa Traoré 3,180,565 99.9%
82 / 82
 Increase 82 Increase 1st Sole legal party
1982 3,437,505 99.9%
82 / 82
 Steady Steady 1st Sole legal party
1985 100%
82 / 82
 Steady Steady 1st Sole legal party
1988 3,615,779 100%
82 / 82
 Steady Steady 1st Sole legal party

References
  1. "Mali - Independent Mali". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  2. Hela Världen i Fakta '86. Stockholm: Bonnier Fakta Bokförlag, 1985. p. 163
  3. Imperato, Pascal James (1989). Mali: A Search for Direction. Boulder: Westview Press. pp. 2, 68. ISBN 0813303419. OCLC 19627431.
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