Democratic Convention of African Peoples

The Democratic Convention of African Peoples (French: Convention démocratique des peuples africains) is a political party in Togo.

The CDPA boycotted the August 1993 presidential election and the February 1994 parliamentary election.[1] Its Secretary-General, Léopold Gnininvi, was a candidate in the June 1998 presidential election, receiving less than 1% of the vote and taking fifth place.[2] The CDPA did not take part in the parliamentary election held on 27 October 2002; as part of the Coalition of Democratic Forces, it called for a boycott.[3] Gnininvi initially ran as the CDPA's candidate in the June 2003 presidential election, but he announced his withdrawal from the election in late May, choosing to back the strongest opposition candidate, Emmanuel Bob-Akitani of the Union of Forces for Change (UFC), instead.[4] The CPDA again supported Bob-Akitani in the presidential election held on 24 April 2005, in which he won 38.1% of the vote.

The party participated in the October 2007 parliamentary election,[5] but did not win any seats.[6] Gnininvi accepted the post of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in the government formed after the election, and as a result he was criticized by much of the opposition, including some in the CDPA. Gandi Borouza, an important CDPA member, left the party in January 2008, arguing that participation in the government was harmful to the party's interests.[7]

The CPDA is a consultative member of the Socialist International.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Togo: Opposition CDPA party to take part in 1998 presidential elections", Radio France Internationale (nl.newsbank.com), August 25, 2007.
  2. ↑ Political Parties of the World (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, page 592.
  3. ↑ "Communiqué de presse de la Coalition des Forces Démocratiques à la suite de la mascarade électorale du 27 octobre 2002", togo-confidentiel.com, October 28, 2002 (French).
  4. ↑ "TOGO: Gnininvi stands down as presidential candidate", IRIN, May 26, 2003.
  5. ↑ "Comment sont décomptés les suffrages", Republicoftogo.com, October 14, 2007 (French).
  6. ↑ Text of Constitutional Court decision (final election results), October 30, 2007 (French).
  7. ↑ "La CDPA minée par un début de dissidence", Xinhua (Jeuneafrique.com), January 24, 2008 (French).
  8. ↑ List of Socialist International member parties in Africa.