United Social Democratic Party
Encyclopedia
The United Social Democratic Party is a centre-left
social democratic political party
in Guinea-Bissau
.
Former Prime Minister Francisco Fadul
was elected as the President of the PUSD on 18 December 2002 at a party convention in Bissau
.
In the legislative election
held on 28 and 30 March 2004, the party won 17.6 % of the popular vote and 17 out of 100 seats. In the 2005 presidential election
, Fadul, running as the PUSD candidate, won 2.85% in the first round. Eight of the PUSD's 17 deputies were expelled from the party in August 2004.
In 2006, Fadul requested that Namuano Dias, a member of PUDS who was serving in the government as Minister of Justice, resign from the government because he had been accused of corruption. Dias and Prime Minister Aristides Gomes
rejected this, however, and Fadul responded by resigning from the PUSD leadership and leaving politics. He returned to politics in the next year, establishing a new party, the Party for Democracy, Development and Citizenship (PADEC), in May 2007.
On 12 March 2007, the PUSD formed a three-party alliance with the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde
(PAIGC) and the Party for Social Renewal
(PRS), and the three parties sought to form a new government. This led to a successful no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Aristides Gomes
and his resignation late in the month; on 9 April, the choice of the three parties for the position of prime minister, Martinho Ndafa Kabi
, was appointed prime minister by President João Bernardo Vieira
, and on 17 April a new government was named, with the PUSD receiving two ministries out of 20.
Fadul challenged the leadership of the PUSD in court and maintained that he was the party's legitimate president. According to Fadul, the PUSD had a disputed leadership and therefore could not legitimately participate in the pact.
Centre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
social democratic political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
.
Former Prime Minister Francisco Fadul
Francisco Fadul
Francisco José Fadul is a Guinea-Bissau politician who was Prime Minister from 3 December 1998 to 19 February 2000. He led the United Social Democratic Party , one of the country's main political parties, from 2002 to 2006....
was elected as the President of the PUSD on 18 December 2002 at a party convention in Bissau
Bissau
Bissau is the capital city of Guinea-Bissau. The city's borders are conterminous with the Bissau Autonomous Sector. In 2007, the city had an estimated population of 407,424 according to the Instituto Nacional de Estatística e Censos...
.
In the legislative election
Guinea-Bissau legislative election, 2004
A legislative election was held in Guinea-Bissau on March 28, 2004. The election had been repeatedly postponed due to political and financial chaos in the country, and due to the coup d'état which overthrew President Kumba Ialá in September 2003....
held on 28 and 30 March 2004, the party won 17.6 % of the popular vote and 17 out of 100 seats. In the 2005 presidential election
Guinea-Bissau presidential election, 2005
Guinea-Bissau held a presidential election on 19 June 2005, and a second round run-off vote was held on 24 July. The election marked the end of a transition to democratic rule after the previously elected government was overthrown in a September 2003 military coup led by General Veríssimo Correia...
, Fadul, running as the PUSD candidate, won 2.85% in the first round. Eight of the PUSD's 17 deputies were expelled from the party in August 2004.
In 2006, Fadul requested that Namuano Dias, a member of PUDS who was serving in the government as Minister of Justice, resign from the government because he had been accused of corruption. Dias and Prime Minister Aristides Gomes
Aristides Gomes
Aristides Gomes is the President of the Republican Party of Independence for Development in Guinea-Bissau. He was the Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau from 2 November 2005 until 13 April 2007....
rejected this, however, and Fadul responded by resigning from the PUSD leadership and leaving politics. He returned to politics in the next year, establishing a new party, the Party for Democracy, Development and Citizenship (PADEC), in May 2007.
On 12 March 2007, the PUSD formed a three-party alliance with the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde
African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde
The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde or PAIGC is a political party that governed Guinea-Bissau from the independence of the then Portuguese Guinea in 1974, until the late 1990s, and from 2004 to 2005. Currently it is the party with the largest number of seats in the...
(PAIGC) and the Party for Social Renewal
Party for Social Renewal
The Party for Social Renewal is a political party in Guinea-Bissau. It is one of the country's leading parties and is currently the main opposition party....
(PRS), and the three parties sought to form a new government. This led to a successful no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Aristides Gomes
Aristides Gomes
Aristides Gomes is the President of the Republican Party of Independence for Development in Guinea-Bissau. He was the Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau from 2 November 2005 until 13 April 2007....
and his resignation late in the month; on 9 April, the choice of the three parties for the position of prime minister, Martinho Ndafa Kabi
Martinho Ndafa Kabi
Martinho Ndafa Kabi was the Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau from 13 April 2007 to 5 August 2008. He is a leading member of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde ....
, was appointed prime minister by President João Bernardo Vieira
João Bernardo Vieira
João Bernardo "Nino" Vieira was the President of Guinea-Bissau from 1980 to 1999 and again from 2005 to 2009. After seizing power in 1980, Vieira ruled for 19 years, and he won a multiparty presidential election in 1994. He was ousted at the end of the 1998–1999 civil war and went into exile...
, and on 17 April a new government was named, with the PUSD receiving two ministries out of 20.
Fadul challenged the leadership of the PUSD in court and maintained that he was the party's legitimate president. According to Fadul, the PUSD had a disputed leadership and therefore could not legitimately participate in the pact.