The Democratic Renewal Party is a political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 of Benin

Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

 led by Adrien Houngbédji

Adrien Houngbédji

Adrien Houngbédji is a Beninese politician and the leader of the Democratic Renewal Party , one of Benin's main political parties. He was President of the National Assembly of Benin from 1991 to 1995, Prime Minister of Benin from 1996 to 1998, and President of the National Assembly for a second...

. Houngbédji lived in exile for several years, but returned to Benin to take part in the National Conference of 1990. He built up his party largely around other exiled Beninese. PRD was legally recognized on September 24, 1990.

Houngbédji was elected to the National Assembly

National Assembly of Benin

The unicameral National Assembly of Benin is the country's legislative body.The current National Assembly has 83 members who are directly elected through a system of party-list proportional representation and serve five-year terms.-See also:...

 in the 1991 parliamentary election

Beninese parliamentary election, 1991

Elections for the National Assembly were held in Benin on 17 February 1991, the first multi-party elections in the country since 1964. Turnout was 51.7% of the 2,069,343 registered voters.-Results:...

 and served as President of the National Assembly until 1995.

In 1996 PRD joined the government, and Houngbédji was appointed Prime Minister. The coalition didn't last, however. Following the 1999 parliamentary election

Beninese parliamentary election, 1999

Elections for the National Assembly were held in Benin on 30 March 1999. The Renaissance Party of Benin retained its status as the largest party in the Assembly, increasing its number of seats from 21 to 27, whilst the Democratic Renewal Party won only 11 seats, a reduction of seven.Voter turnout...

, Houngbédji was again elected as President of the National Assembly.

The PRD is mainly based in Ouémé

Ouémé Department

Ouémé is one of the twelve departments of Benin.In 1999 the northern part of the department was split off to form the new Plateau Department....

.
In the presidential election

Beninese presidential election, 2006

A presidential election was held in the West African state of Benin on March 5, 2006. Long-time president Mathieu Kérékou was barred from running again by a two term limit and an age limit of 70 years for candidates; in July 2005 he signalled that he would not seek to change the constitution, as...

 of 5 March 2006, Houngbédji, the PRD candidate, won 24.2 % of the votes in the first round. In the second round he won 25.4 % and was defeated by Yayi Boni

Yayi Boni

Dr. Thomas Yayi Boni , a Beninese banker and politician, is the current President of Benin. He took office on 6 April 2006 after winning elections held in the previous month.-Biography:...

.

Parliamentary election results

• 1991 - 9 seats, in alliance with the National Party for Democracy and Development.
• 1995 - 18 seats
• 1999 - 11 seats
• 2003 - 11 seats
• 2007 - 10 seats