The Cameroon Union was a Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

ian pro-independence party active in the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 territory of Cameroun

Cameroun

Cameroun was a French and British mandate territory in central Africa, now constituting the majority of the territory of the Republic of Cameroon....

.

The UC was formed by Ahmadou Ahidjo

Ahmadou Ahidjo

Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo was the first President of Cameroon from 1960 until 1982.-Early life:Ahidjo was born in Garoua, a major river port along the Benue River in northern Cameroun, which was at the time a French mandate territory...

 in 1958 when he broke from André-Marie Mbida

André-Marie Mbida

Andre-Marie Mbida was a Cameroonian State man, pragmatic nationalist, first Cameroonian to be elected Member of Parliament at the French National Assembly, Prime Minister of Cameroon, second African-born Prime Minister in the dark continent , first Head of State of French speaking autonomous...

 and the Bloc Démocratique Camerounaise. Under Ahidjo the UC was prepared to work with the French in order to achieve its goals of a united, independent Cameroon.

Formed from an alliance in the legislature between political figures from the centre and south of the country and magnates from the Islamic Fula people

Fula people

Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...

 the UC emerged as the main party post-independence. The party had initially only won a slim majority in the election

Cameroonian parliamentary election, 1960

Parliamentary elections were held in Cameroon on 10 April 1960. They were the first elections held in accordance with the new consitiution, approved in a referendum in February, which created a unicameral federal National Assembly. The result was a slim victory for the Cameroonian Union, forcing it...

 immediately after independence and was forced to govern by coalition. However by 1963 the UC had absorbed its coalition partners and was very much the dominant party. Indeed in the 1964 parliamentary elections

Cameroonian parliamentary election, 1964

Parliamentary elections were held in Cameroon in 1964. They were the first elections held after Southern Cameroons became part of the country in 1961. The result was a victory for the Cameroonian Union in East Cameroon and the Kamerun National Democratic Party in West Cameroon. However, the...

 the UC captured 98% of the vote in East Cameroon whilst in the 1965 Presidential election

Cameroonian presidential election, 1965

Presidential elections were held in Cameroon on 23 March 1965. Incumbent Ahmadou Ahidjo was the only candidate, and won 100% of the vote as the candidate of the Cameroonian Union-Kamerun National Democratic Party alliance. Voter turnout was 95.1%.-Results:...

 Ahidjo captured 99.95% of the vote as a joint UC-Kamerun National Democratic Party

Kamerun National Democratic Party

Kamerun National Democratic Party was a pro-independence political party active in Southern Cameroons during the period of British Mandate rule.-Pre-independence:The KNDP was formed in 1955 by John Ngu Foncha...

 (KNDP) candidate. The party dominated politics in Francophone Cameroon until in 1966 when it merged with the KNDP to become the Cameroon National Union

Cameroon National Union

The Cameroon National Union was Cameroon's sole legal political party until 1990...

, the single party of government.