African Independence Party (in French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

: Parti Africain de l'Indépendance) was a communist party

Communist party

A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...

 in French West Africa

French West Africa

French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...

 (AOF). PAI was founded in Thiès

Thiès

Thiès is the third largest city in Senegal with a population officially estimated at 320,000 in 2005. It lies 60 km east of Dakar on the N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and St-Louis...

, Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

 in 1957. Later as AOF was dissolved into independent countries the local PAI sections became independent parties, often keeping the name PAI.

PAI was the first party in AOF to unequivocally demand independence from French rule.

In Senegal PAI was banned on August 1, 1960.

In Senegal the following parties trace/traced their origin back to PAI:

• Party of Independence and Work (PIT, technically the original PAI)
• African Independence Party-Renewal
  African Independence Party-Renewal
  African Independence Party is a political party in Senegal, which was led by Majhmoud Diop....
  
   (legally registered as PAI)
• Democratic League - Movement for the Labour Party
  Democratic League - Movement for the Labour Party
  The Democratic League/Movement for the Labour Party is a political party in Senegal....
  
  
• Senegalese Communist Party
  Senegalese Communist Party
  Senegalese Communist Party was a pro-Chinese communist party in Senegal. It was formed by the then student leader Landing Savané in 1965. The party was short-lived, but Savané continued his political activity through other groups.-Source:*Zuccarelli, François. La vie politique sénégalaise . Paris:...
  
   (short-lived pro-Chinese faction)

In Upper Volta

Republic of Upper Volta

The Republic of Upper Volta was established on December 11, 1958, as a self-governing colony within the French Community. Before attaining autonomy it had been French Upper Volta and part of the French Union. On August 5, 1960 it attained full independence from France.Thomas Sankara came to power...

/Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...

 PAI was established in 1963. PAI attained importance through its mass front Patriotic League for Development

Patriotic League for Development

Patriotic League for Development was an open mass front of the African Independence Party in Burkina Faso. LIPAD was founded in September 1973. LIPAD was led by Arba Diallo. The militants of LIPAD were generally called lipadistes....

 (LIPAD). Today LIPAD is dissolved, and PAI has split in two factions:

• African Independence Party (Ouédraogo). Technically the original PAI
• African Independence Party (Touré)
  African Independence Party (Touré)
  The African Independence Party is a political party in Burkina Faso, led by Soumane Touré. It was formed in 1999 when Touré broke away from the original PAI.Touré's PAI joined the government and obtained the legal recognition to the name PAI....
  
  , legally recognized as PAI

List of founders of PAI

• Madame Basse
• M. Basse
• Coupet Camara
• Seydou Cissokho
• Adama Diagne
• Oumar Diallo
• Birahim Diawara Birahim
• Majhemout Diop
• Bouna Fall
• Abdou Ka
• Alioune Kamara
• Malick Kamara
• Basile Khaly
• Tidiane Baïdy Ly
• Abdou Moumouni
• Abdoulaye Ndiaye
• Samba Ndiaye
• Samba
• Khalilou Sall
• Ousmane Santara
• Bacirou Sarr
• Moussé Guèye Seck
• Sékou Touré