Union for National Progress

The Union for National Progress ( English Union for National Progress , French Union pour le Progrès national , abbreviation UPRONA ) is a nationalist political party in Burundi , which receives most of its support from members of the Tutsi people.

The party is valued for its role in Burundian independence, but was also the country's unity party . It was founded in 1960 in the Kingdom of Burundi .

history

The most famous prime minister of this party and national hero is Prince Louis Rwagasore (murdered 1961). From that time until 1965 the party also had Hutu support , and three of its Hutu members, including Pierre Ngendandumwe , became Prime Ministers of Burundi. The party was taken over by President Michel Micombero in a vicious coup d'état and made a pillar of the military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1966 to 1993. Since 1993, in failed re-election cases, the Union for National Progress has secured the position of Vice-President and some of the top positions in government.

The leader of the Union for National Progress, Pierre Buyoya , passed power to the Hutu leader Domitien Ndayizeye of the Front for Democracy in Burundi (a Hutu-based party) on April 30, 2003. In the 2005 general election, the party only won 7.2 % of the vote and thus 15 of the 118 seats.

During the general election of 2010, the Union for National Progress boycotted the council and presidential elections, but decided to participate in the parliamentary elections because it was necessary to form an opposition faction in parliament and to stand in the next elections in 2015.