Rassemblement des Républicains - Côte d'Ivoire

The Rassemblement des Républicains (RDR) is the main liberal party of Côte d'Ivoire, member of Liberal International, and a founding member of the Africa Liberal Network.

The RDR was established on the 27 September 1994. Its first Secretary-General, Djeni Kobina Georges, was elected during the constitutive assembly on the 1-2 July, 1995. After the death of Mr Djeni Kobina on the 19 October 1998, Prof Henriette Dagri Diabate was elected Secretary-General. Subsequently, Dr Alassane Dramane Ouattara was elected President of RDR on the 1 August 1999. Dr Ouattara was formerly Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire from 1990 to 1993 and subsequently served as Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund from 1994 to 1999.

After a prelonged exclusion from politics, Dr Ouattara was selected as the candidate of the Rassemblement des Houphouétistes pour la Démocratie et la Paix (RHDP) alliance of four major opposition candidates ahead of the Presidential elections. He won the second highest share of the vote in the first round, and was therefore put into a run-off against incumbent Laurent Gbagbo in November 2010. On 2 December 2010, it was announced that he had won the elections by 54% to 46% of the vote. This result was disputed by Gbagbo loyalists and conflict errupted in Cote d'Ivoire.

A true democrat, President Ouattara pursued a negotiated solution to the electoral crisis, agreeing to international arbitration. He worked with the African Union and United Nations to pursue a resolution to the dispute which accommodated the outgoing President, and he received the full support of the international community, including the UN Security Council. Following an extended impasse during which Gbagbo supporters attacked his own voters, he launched a triumphant return to Abidjan with the support of the Forces Républicains who captured the outgoing President Gbagbo in April 2011. Dr Ouattara was eventually inaugurated as President of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire on 21 May 2011.

President Ouattara is now seeking to rebuild the country and attract investments along with partners from the RHDP. The RDR believes that economic security, good governance, and a better dialogue with civil society to build a social consensus for reforms should be the key concerns of policymakers in addition to sound macroeconomics policies and bold structural reforms. The RDR also believes that development rests on three pillars: good economic policy, a conductive legal and political environment, and attention to equitable social development. Finally, the RDR believes in the growth of a free society based on personal liberty, personal responsibility and social justice.

Contact

Rassemblement des Républicains
08 BP 2153
Abidjan 08
Côte d'Ivoire

http://www.rdr.ci