Renaissance Party of Benin
베냉 르네상스당
A liberal Beninese party founded on 24 March 1992 by Rosine Vieyra Soglo to support her husband, President Nicéphore Soglo. It became the largest party in the 1995 legislative election, but Nicéphore Soglo lost the presidential elections of 1996 and 2001 to Mathieu Kérékou. Nicéphore Soglo led the party from 1994.
In depth
According to the French source, the Renaissance Party of Benin was founded on 24 March 1992 by Rosine Vieyra Soglo to support her husband Nicéphore Soglo, elected president in 1991, and she led it at first. The English source adds that she was the first Beninese woman to found a new party, and that its purpose was to give political backing to a president who lacked support from the political elite. The article on Nicéphore Soglo states that he became leader of the party in 1994.
The party won 20 of 83 seats in the 1995 legislative election, becoming the largest political force, but Nicéphore Soglo was defeated by Mathieu Kérékou in the 1996 presidential election. It recovered to 27 of 89 seats in 1999, but Soglo lost the presidential election again in 2001 and the party won only 15 seats in 2003.
According to the English source, in the 2006 presidential election, which Nicéphore Soglo could not contest because of the age limit, his son Lehady Soglo stood as the party's candidate and came fourth, and in the 2007 legislative election the party took part in the Alliance for a Dynamic Democracy. Nicéphore Soglo became Mayor of Cotonou in 2003 with the party's backing.