African Regroupment Party

The Party of the African grouping (French: Parti du Regroupement Africain, symbol: PRA) was a political party in French West Africa.

History

The Party of the African grouping emerged at a meeting of African party chiefs in March 1958. Their true founding congress was held 25 to 27 July 1958 in Cotonou instead. The party chaired by the Senegalese politician Léopold Sedar Senghor was a merger of the African Socialist Movement (MSA), the Convention Africaine (CAF ) and the Parti Républicain you Dahomey ( PRD). She was inter- territorially organized and was made up of member parties in each of the French overseas territories together. These included the Parti du Regroupement Soudanais (PRS -PRA ) of French Sudan, the Union progressiste Sénégalaise ( UPS PRA) from Senegal, the Mouvement du Regroupement Voltaïque ( MRV PRA) from Upper Volta, the Regroupement of Partis de la Côte d' Ivoire ( RPCI -PRA ) from the Ivory Coast and the Union progressiste Guinéenne ( UPG) from Guinea.

The PRA was formed in French West Africa a strong counterweight to also organized inter -territorial African Democratic Rally Party ( RDA) under Félix Houphouët- Boigny. Took place in September 1958 - in the French overseas territories - the constitutional referendum on the Fifth French Republic. A Yes meant an expanded autonomy within the French Community, a No immediate independence from France for the former colonies. The PRA mobilized for a No and sought the creation of an African Federal State of which should have a later negotiations on entry into a multinational confederation, while the RDA advocated a yes. In fact, only Guinea opted for the immediate independence. The PRA chairman Senghor continued to work on his idea of a federal state, the originally French Sudan, Upper Volta, Dahomey, Niger and Senegal would include to, and founded in January 1959, the fragile Mali Federation. On July 1, 1959 set forth the (PFA ) Party of the African Federation of the PRA.