The National Unity Party (, PUN) was the de facto sole legal political party in Haiti under the Duvalier family (), the autocratic family dictatorship of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, which lasted from 1957 to 1986.
History The PUN was founded in 1957 as a political platform to support the presidential candidacy of "Papa Doc" Duvalier in the 1957 general election. In the aftermath of the July 1958 coup attempt, the Tonton Macoute — officially named Volunteers of the National Security (, VSN) — was formed as the paramilitary wing of the PUN.Papa Doc and the Tontons Macoutes, by Bernard Diederich & Alan Burton; Markus Wiener Publishers, Incorporated, 1969 In 1963, other political parties in Haiti were outlawed, making the PUN the single political party of the nation.
When "Papa Doc" Duvalier died in 1971, his son "Baby Doc" Duvalier succeeded him as the President of the country and the leader of the party. The party would remain in power until the fall and exile of "Baby Doc" Duvalier in 1986, at the height of the Anti-Duvalier protest movement, after which the party would enter a low profile stage, including the change of its name to National Progressive Party (, PPN).
After the return of "Baby Doc" Duvalier from exile in 2011, the party began a process of reconstitution under its original name from 2014, and started opening departmental offices. Suffering a setback with the death of "Baby Doc" Duvalier in 2014, the party nominated Marc-Arthur Drouillard as its candidate in the 2015 presidential election. Towards that time, the legal representative of the party was Philomène Exe.
Electoral history
Presidential elections Election Party candidate Votes % Result 1957François Duvalier 680,509 72,36% Elected 1961 1,320,748 100% Elected 1964 2,800,000 99,88% Elected 1971 Jean-Claude Duvalier 2,239,917 100% Elected 1985 2,375,011 99,98% Elected 2015Marc-Arthur Drouillard 929 0,06% Lost 2016 970 0,09% Lost
Chamber of Deputies elections Election Party leader Seats +/– Position Result 1957François Duvalier New 1st 1961 32 1st 1964Unknown 1st 1967Unknown 1st 1973Jean-Claude Duvalier 1st 1979 1 1st 1984 2 1st
See also Dominican Party, the ruling party of the neighboring Dominican Republic under Rafael Trujillo between 1930–1961.
References