Editing People's Rally for Progress (section)

{{Short description|Political party in Djibouti}}
{{Infobox political party
| country          = Djibouti
| name             = People's Rally for Progress
| native_name      = [[French Language|French]]: Rassemblement populaire pour le Progrès<br/>[[Arabic Language|Arabic]]: {{lang|ar|التجمع الشعبي من أجل التقدم}}
| logo             = People's Rally for Progress.png
| leader           = [[Ismaïl Omar Guelleh]]
| foundation       = March 4, 1979<ref>{{Cite book|title=Political Handbook of the World 2018-2019|page=442|first=Tom|last=Lansford|year=2019|isbn=9781544327136}}</ref> in [[Dikhil]]
| dissolution      = 
| headquarters     = [[Djibouti City]]
| newspaper        = 
| youth_wing       = 
| membership_year  = 
| membership       = 
| ideology         = [[Issa (clan)|Issa]] interests<br>[[Democratic socialism]]{{cn|date=April 2025}}<br>[[Social democracy]]{{cn|date=June 2024}}<br />[[Nationalism]]{{cn|date=March 2025}}<br />[[Economy of Singapore|Singapore model]]<ref name="Hursh What Guelleh missed">{{cite news |last1=Hursh |first1=John |title=What Guelleh missed in trying to turn Djibouti into the 'Singapore of Africa' |url=https://africanarguments.org/2021/05/what-guelleh-missed-in-trying-to-turn-djibouti-into-the-singapore-of-africa/ |work=African Arguments |date=11 May 2021 }}</ref><br />[[Economy of Rwanda|Rwandan model]]<ref name="Hursh What Guelleh missed"/><br />[[Patriotism]]<ref name="Bernstein Hassan Gouled Aptidon">{{cite news |last1=Bernstein |first1=Adam |title=Hassan Gouled Aptidon, First President Of Djibouti |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/29/AR2006112901450.html |date=30 November 2006 }}</ref><br />Pro-[[Women rights]]<ref name="Bernstein Hassan Gouled Aptidon"/><br />[[Neoliberalism]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wan |first1=Yan |last2=Zhang |first2=Lujia |last3=Xue |first3=Charlie Qiuli |last4=Xiao |first4=Yingbo |title=Djibouti: From a colonial fabrication to the deviation of the 'Shekou model' |journal=Cities |date=February 2020 |volume=97 |pages=102488 |doi=10.1016/j.cities.2019.102488 }}</ref><br />[[Neo-patrimonialism]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vanguardafrica.com/africawatch/2021/4/19/in-djibouti-a-dictator-clings-to-power-and-extends-suffering|title=In Djibouti, A Dictator Clings to Power and Extends Suffering|date=April 19, 2021|website=Vanguard Africa}}</ref>
| position         = [[Big tent politics|Big tent]]{{cn|date=March 2025}} to [[Left-wing politics|Left-wing]]{{cn|date=June 2024}}
| national         = [[Union for the Presidential Majority (Djibouti)|Union for the Presidential Majority]]
| international    = 
| colors           = [[Green]]
| colorcode        = {{party color|People's Rally for Progress}}
| website          = http://www.rpp.dj/
| footnotes        = 
}}
The '''People's Rally for Progress''' ({{langx|ar|التجمع الشعبي من أجل التقدم}}; {{langx|fr|Rassemblement populaire pour le Progrès}}, '''RPP''') is a [[political party]] in [[Djibouti]]. It has dominated politics in the country since 1979, initially under the rule of President [[Hassan Gouled Aptidon]]. Today it is led by President [[Ismaïl Omar Guelleh]] and is in a coalition government with [[Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy]] (FRUD) and other parties. The RPP tends to hold more influence among the [[Issa (clan)|Issa]] population.

The RPP was founded in [[Dikhil]] on March 4, 1979.<ref name=LaNation>[http://www.lanation.dj/news/2004/ln28/national4.htm "Récit d’une journée commémorant les 25 ans d’existence du RPP"]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''La Nation'' (Djibouti), March 8, 2004 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> It was declared the sole legal party in October 1981, retaining this status until multiparty politics was introduced in the [[Djiboutian constitutional referendum, 1992|September 1992 referendum]].<ref>[http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,463af2212,469f2d5a2,469f3882c,0.html "Chronology for Afars in Djibouti"], Minorities at Risk Project (UNHCR Refworld), 2004.</ref> At the party congress held on 19–20 March 1997, Gouled Aptidon was re-elected as RPP President and a 125-member Central Committee was elected.<ref>[http://www.africa.upenn.edu/eue_web/hoa0497.htm "First FRUD congress held"], ''Indian Ocean Newsletter'', 16 April 1997 (''Horn of Africa Monthly Review'', 21 February–28 April 1997).</ref> It contested the [[Djiboutian parliamentary election, 1997|December 1997 parliamentary election]] in alliance with the moderate faction of FRUD (which had signed a peace agreement with the government in December 1994), and this alliance won 79% of the vote, taking all 65 seats in the [[National Assembly of Djibouti|National Assembly]].<ref>''Political Handbook of the World: 1998'' (1998), page 261 (cited in [http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/type,QUERYRESPONSE,,DJI,3ae6aac550,0.html "Djibouti: Political opposition parties (This Response replaces an earlier version dated 13 January 1999.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520004544/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/type%2CQUERYRESPONSE%2C%2CDJI%2C3ae6aac550%2C0.html |date=20 May 2011 }}", Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (UNHCR Refworld), DJI31018.FE, 1 February 1999.</ref>

On February 4, 1999, President Gouled Aptidon announced that he would retire at the time of the next election, and an extraordinary congress of the RPP, chose Guelleh as its presidential candidate.<ref>"Djibouti: President Gouled Aptidon to retire in April after 22 years in power", AFP (nl.newsbank.com), February 4, 1999.</ref> As the joint candidate of the RPP and moderate wing of the [[Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy]] (FRUD), Guelleh won the [[Djiboutian presidential election, 1999|presidential election]] held on April 9, 1999 with 74% of the vote, defeating his only challenger, the independent candidate [[Moussa Ahmed Idriss]].<ref>[http://www.presidence.dj/page274.html "Proclamation du Président de la République de Djibouti par le Conseil Constitutionnel."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070816044615/http://www.presidence.dj/page274.html |date=2007-08-16 }}, Journal Officiel de la République de Djibouti {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

In the [[Djiboutian parliamentary election, 2003|parliamentary election]] held on 10 January 2003, the party was part of the Union for a Presidential Majority (''Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle'', UMP), that won 63% of the popular vote and all 65 seats.

The RPP opened its Eighth Ordinary Congress on March 4, 2004,<ref name=LaNation/><ref>[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-20561446_ITM "Djibouti president chairs ruling party congress."], BBC Monitoring International Reports, March 4, 2004.</ref> coinciding with the party's 25th anniversary. At this congress, Guelleh was unanimously re-elected as RPP President by acclamation for another three-year term, and the RPP Central Committee was expanded from 180 to 250 members.<ref name=LaNation/> On March 4, 2007, the RPP held its Ninth Ordinary Congress; Guelleh was again re-elected as RPP President, and three women were added to the Political Bureau, expanding it to 17 members.<ref>[http://www.lanation.dj/news/2007/ln27/national.htm "L'art de rassembler"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071119120212/http://www.lanation.dj/news/2007/ln27/national.htm |date=2007-11-19 }}, ''La Nation'', March 5, 2007 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> It contested the [[Djiboutian parliamentary election, 2008|February 2008 parliamentary election]] together with its UMP coalition partners,<ref name=IPU>[http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2089_E.htm IPU-PARLINE page for 2008 election].</ref><ref>[http://www.lanation.dj/news/2008/ln6/national6.htm "14% de sièges aux femmes"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119200233/http://www.lanation.dj/news/2008/ln6/national6.htm |date=2008-01-19 }}, ''La Nation'', 16 January 2008 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> and the UMP again won all 65 seats amidst an opposition boycott.<ref name=IPU/>