Democratic Centre Union
Democratic Centre Union Union du Centre démocratique | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | UCD |
| Leader | Simon Bachelet |
| Founded | 30 September 1990 |
| Preceded by | National Republican People's Party |
| Ideology | Centrism National liberalism Bacheletism Social conservatism |
| Political position | Centre to centre-right |
| Colors | Blue, white |
| Seats | 5 / 14
|
| Website | |
| www.ucd.sb | |
The Democratic Centre Union (Principean: Union du Centre démocratique, UCD) is a centrist political party in Saint-Baptiste. The successor of the National Republican People's Party, the UCD is one of two main parties in Saint-Baptiste, alongside the National Action Party. At present, the party forms the official opposition, holding five seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The party traditionally takes a more conservative approach to policy, although it is considered the more financially interventionist of the two main parties, and attempts to ascribe to a catch-all and non-ideological position.
History
The Democratic Centre Union was founded on 30 September 1990, reforming what remained of the National Republican People's Party after Saint-Baptiste's democratization earlier that year. The party initially lost both the 1991 presidential and parliamentary elections, seeing itself form the official opposition to the big tent Movement for Democratic Reform (MRD), which gained both a parliamentary majority and control of the presidency. However, by the 1995 elections, the MRD had all but collapsed, and the UCD under Cyrille Bachelet was able to capture a landslide majority of thirteen seats. It was during Bachelet's term as Prime Minister that Saint-Baptiste joined the Assembly of Marceaunian States in 1996, and saw a boost in tourism. Bachelet would later become President in 1996.
Despite these improvements, the UCD was caught by an economic downturn in 1998 and 1999, paving the way for the National Action Party to gain a majority in 1999, returning the UCD back to opposition. Despite this loss, the party would hold onto the presidency for twelve consecutive years, and returned to government in 2007 amidst the Ménard scandal. The UCD would later lose power of both branches in 2011, when the National Action Party would secure both a parliamentary majority and the presidency for the first time, partially due to a financial scandal surrounding Prime Minster Cyrille Bachelet. Since then, the Democratic Centre Union has remained in opposition, although its position has improved in the 2019 election, winning five out of fourteen seats in the Chamber of Deputies under the leadership of Simon Bachelet.
Election results
Chamber of Deputies
| Election year | Leader | # of votes |
% of vote |
# of overall seats won |
+/– | Govt? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Pierre-Marie Blanchet | 7,419 | 45.79 (#2) | 6 / 14
|
 6
|
Official opposition |
| 1995 | Cyrille Bachelet | 7,277 | 49.61 (#1) | 13 / 14
|
7
|
Majority |
| 1999 | Bruno Camille | 5,187 | 38.96 (#2) | 3 / 14
|
 10
|
Official opposition |
| 2003 | Adrien Baschet | 6,404 | 46.65 (#1) | 6 / 14
|
3
|
Official opposition |
| 2007 | Cyrille Bachelet | 6,203 | 51.86 (#1) | 10 / 14
|
4
|
Majority |
| 2011 | 5,872 | 40.40 (#2) | 4 / 14
|
6
|
Official opposition | |
| 2015 | Silvain Kléber | 5,910 | 42.40 (#2) | 3 / 14
|
1
|
Official opposition |
| 2019 | Simon Bachelet | 6,517 | 41.00 (#2) | 5 / 14
|
2
|
Official opposition |
President
| Election year | Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # of votes | % of vote | # of votes | % of vote | ||
| 1991 | Édouard Bachelet | 7,024 | 43.95 (#2) | 7,539 | 45.08 (#2) |
| 1996 | Cyrille Bachelet | 6,553 | 47.62 (#1) | 7,333 | 52.73 (#1) |
| 2001 | Cyrille Bachelet | 5,293 | 42.37 (#1) | 7,631 | 55.81 (#1) |
| 2006 | Jean-Michel Fournier | 4,025 | 37.11 (#1) | 5,993 | 58.16 (#1) |
| 2011 | Jean-Michel Fournier | 4,970 | 33.12 (#2) | ||
| 2016 | Étienne Chaney | 5,228 | 39.01 (#2) | 6,635 | 48.63 (#2) |