The Union for Democracy and the Republic (French: Union pour la Démocratie et la République-Tabbat, commonly UDR-TABBAT) is a political party in Niger. Its founding leaders were former Prime Minister of Niger Amadou Boubacar Cissé and Amadou Madougou, who formed the party after a 1999 split with the RDP-Jama'a party.[1] Cissé had been Prime Minister of Niger under former coup leader Bare Maïnassara, who formed the RDP to contest elections in 1996. Following Maïnassara's assassination in April 1999, Cissé and RDP party president Hamid Algabid vied for the party's nomination in the October 1999 presidential election. Hamid Algabid and his supporters won, and Cissé was expelled from the RDP.[2] A faction of the RDP persisted in supporting Cissé[3] [4][5] leaving it to the Court of State to judge which faction would remain in the RDP.[5] The Court accepted Algabid's candidacy and rejected Cissé's candidacy on September 3. On September 12, Cissé created the UDR-Tabbat, taking a number of supporters with him.[6]
After failing to win seats in the 1999 parliamentary elections, the UDR-Tabbat contested the Nigerien parliamentary election of 4 December 2004 in the Coordination of Democratic Forces (CFD, Coordination des forces démocratiques) alliance with the main opposition party, the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS). The coalition was formed 11 parties, after the PNDS, the largest were the PPN, PNA-Al'ouma, UNI, and UDR-Tabbat. The UDR ran a split ticket with Amadou Ali Djibo's UNI, winning two seats.
Cissé and the UDR-Tabbat were prominent among the opposition coalition to President Tandja Mamadou's 6th Republic of 2009-2010.[7] Boubacar Cissé and UDR-Tabbat are expected to compete for the 2010-2011 presidential and parliamentary elections.[8]