International Democrat Union - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The International Democrat Union, abbreviated to IDU, is a centre-right

Centre-right

The centre-right or center-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist...

international alliance

Political international

A political international is a trans-national organisation of political parties or activists. The international works together on points of agreement to co-ordinate activity....

of conservative

Conservatism

Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...

and liberal-conservative

Liberal conservatism

Liberal conservatism also known as progressive conservatism is a variant of political conservatism which incorporates liberal elements. As "conservatism" and "liberalism" have had different meanings over time and across countries, the term "liberal conservatism" has been used in quite different...

political parties

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...

. Headquartered in Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, the IDU comprises 45 full or associate members. It is chaired by John Howard

John Howard

John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....

, former Prime Minister of Australia

Prime Minister of Australia

The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...

.
The IDU provides a forum in which political parties

Political Parties

Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...

holding similar beliefs can come together and exchange views on matters of policy and organisational interest. From this, they act cooperatively, establish contacts, and present a unified voice toward the promotion of centre-right policies across the globe. The IDU has some overlap of member parties with the Centrist Democrat International

Centrist Democrat International

The Centrist Democrat International was until 2001 the Christian Democrat International and before that the Christian Democrat and People's Parties International...

(CDI), but the CDI is more centrist

Centrism

In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...

and communitarian

Communitarianism

Communitarianism is an ideology that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. That community may be the family unit, but it can also be understood in a far wider sense of personal interaction, of geographical location, or of shared history.-Terminology:Though the term...

than the IDU.

The group was founded in 1983 as the umbrella organisation for the European Democrat Union

European Democrat Union

The European Democrat Union is one of the two European wings of the International Democrat Union, along with the European People's Party . Its members include Christian democratic, liberal conservative, and conservative political parties...

(EDU), Caribbean Democrat Union

Caribbean Democrat Union

The Caribbean Democrat Union is an alliance of centre-right political parties in the Caribbean. It is affiliated to the global International Democrat Union....

(CDU), and the Pacific Democrat Union (PDU). Created at the instigation of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation

Konrad Adenauer Foundation

The Konrad Adenauer Foundation is a German political party foundation associated with the centre-right Christian Democratic Union . The foundation's headquarters are located in Saint Augustine and Berlin. Globally, the KAS has 78 offices and runs programs in over 100 countries...

and American Vice President

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

, the organisation was founded at a joint meeting of the EDU and PDU in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

The IDU has several regional affiliates: the Democrat Union of Africa

Democrat Union of Africa

The Democrat Union of Africa is an alliance of centre-right political parties in Africa. Founded in Dakar, Senegal, in 1997, it is affiliated to the global International Democrat Union....

, the Union of Latin American Parties

Union of Latin American Parties

The Union of Latin American Parties is an alliance of centre-right political parties in Latin America and Canada. It is affiliated with the global International Democrat Union....

, the Asia Pacific Democrat Union

Asia Pacific Democrat Union

The Asia Pacific Democrat Union is an international association of member parties close to the International Democratic Union.- Members : : Liberal Party of Australia : Conservative Party of Canada : Renovación Nacional : Kuomintang, Chinese Nationalist Party : Alianza Republicana Nacionalista :...

, the Caribbean Democrat Union

Caribbean Democrat Union

The Caribbean Democrat Union is an alliance of centre-right political parties in the Caribbean. It is affiliated to the global International Democrat Union....

, and both the European People's Party

European People's Party

The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...

and European Democrat Union

European Democrat Union

in Europe. It also has an affiliated youth wing

Youth wing

A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous or independently-allied front of a larger organization that is formed in order to rally support and allegiance for that organization's campaigns from members and potential members of a younger age...

in the International Young Democrat Union

International Young Democrat Union

The International Young Democrat Union is an international grouping of centre-right political youth organisations, encompassing conservative, classical liberal, and Christian democratic traditions. It is the youth wing of the International Democrat Union , which brings together centre-right...

and an affiliated women's wing

Women's wing

A women's wing is an organisation affiliated with a political party that consists of that party's female membership or acts to promote women within that party. The organisations take different roles and types, with some giving women the option of joining and others automatically enrolling all...

in the International Women's Democrat Union

International Women's Democrat Union

The International Women's Democrat Union, abbreviated to IWDU, is the women's wing of the International Democrat Union, the political international for centre-right political parties.-External links:*...

Full members

Party	Abbr	Government
Democratic Party of Albania Democratic Party of Albania The Democratic Party of Albania is a center-right, Conservative, political party in Albania and the leading party in the governing coalition since the 2005 parliamentary elections...	PD	in government
Liberal Party of Australia Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	Lib	in opposition
Austrian People's Party Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Austria. A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is similar to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in terms of ideology...	ÖVP

} junior party in government
|-
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| Azerbaijan National Independence Party

Azerbaijan National Independence Party

The Azerbaijan National Independence Party is a political party in Azerbaijan.At the last elections , the party won 3.9 % of the popular vote and 2 out of 125 seats. Its candidate Ehtibar Mammadov won 2.6 % of the popular vote in the 15 October 2003 presidential elections.The party suffered a...

Popular Consensus

Popular Consensus is a center-right Bolivian political party founded in 2009. CP founder Óscar Ortiz Antelo was President of the Senate of Bolivia from 2008 to 2010. In the 2009 national election, the party formed an electoral alliance with the National Unity Front, the Consensus Alliance for...

| CP
| in opposition
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| Party of Democratic Action

Party of Democratic Action

The Party of Democratic Action is a Bosniak national political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:The Party of Democratic Action was founded in May 1990 by Alija Izetbegović, representing the Bosnian Muslim population...

| SDA
| junior party in government
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| Democrats

Democrats (Brazil)

The Democrats is a centre-right political party in Brazil, considered the main in the right-wing spectrum. Despite its former name , the party affiliates itself to the Centrist Democrat International, and the International Democrat Union. The name comes from its support to free market policies...

| DEM
| in opposition
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| Union of Democratic Forces

Union of Democratic Forces (Bulgaria)

The Union of Democratic Forces is a political party in Bulgaria, founded in 1989 as a union of several political organizations in opposition to the communist government. In February 1997 the Union was transformed into a single unified party with the same name...

| SDS
| in opposition
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| Conservative Party of Canada

Conservative Party of Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

| CPC/PCC
| in government

41st Canadian Parliament

The 41st Canadian Parliament is the current Parliament of Canada, with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the 2011 federal election held on May 2, 2011...

|-
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| Independent Democrat Union

Independent Democrat Union

The Independent Democrat Union is a Chilean right-wing, conservative political party, founded in 1983. Its main inspirer was the lawyer, politician and law professor Jaime Guzmán, a former senator of the Republic of Chile from 1990 until his assassination on April 1, 1991.Its ideological origins...

| UDI
| in government

National Congress of Chile

The National Congress is the legislative branch of the government of the Republic of Chile.The National Congress of Chile was founded on July 4, 1811...

|-
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| National Renewal

National Renewal (Chile)

National Renewal , is a liberal conservative political party belonging to the Chilean right-wing political coalition Coalition for Change in conjunction with the Independent Democratic Union and the Chile First movement...

| RN
| in government

National Congress of Chile

The National Congress is the legislative branch of the government of the Republic of Chile.The National Congress of Chile was founded on July 4, 1811...

|-
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Republic of China
| Kuomintang

Kuomintang

The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

| KMT
| in government

Ma Ying-jeou

Ma Ying-jeou is the 12th term and current President of the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, and the Chairman of the Kuomintang Party, also known as the Chinese Nationalist Party. He formerly served as Justice Minister from 1993 to 1996, Mayor of Taipei from 1998 to 2006, and Chairman...

|-
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| Colombian Conservative Party

Colombian Conservative Party

The Colombian Conservative Party , is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was unofficially founded by a group of Revolutionary Commoners during the Revolutionary War for Independence from the Spanish Monarchy and later formally established during the Greater Colombia...

| PCC
| in government
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| Croatian Democratic Union

Croatian Democratic Union

The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...

| HDZ
| leader of government coalition
|-
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| Democratic Rally

Democratic Rally

The Democratic Rally , is a centre-right political party in Cyprus, led by Nicos Anastasiades.The party was founded on 4 July 1976 by veteran politician Glafkos Klerides. Clerides served as Cyprus president from 1993 until 2003....

Conservative People's Party (Denmark)

The Conservative People's Party , also known as Conservatives is a Danish political party.-History:The party was founded 1915 based mostly on its predecessor, Højre , but also on the Free Conservatives and a moderate faction of Venstre , the liberals.The party has participated in several coalition...

| K
| in opposition
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| National Progressive Force

National Progressive Force

The Fuerza Nacional Progresista —or National Progressive Force , is one of the main political parties of the Dominican Republic, and has a center-right position...

| FNP
| in opposition
|-
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| Social Christian Party

Social Christian Party (Ecuador)

The Social Christian Party is a center-right political party in Ecuador.The party was founded by Camilo Ponce Enríquez and was initially focused on Quito...

| PSC
| in opposition
|-
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| Nationalist Republican Alliance

Nationalist Republican Alliance

The Nationalist Republican Alliance is a conservative political party in El Salvador. It was founded on September 30, 1981, by Roberto D'Aubuisson, in order to oppose the reformist military junta that was ruling El Salvador at the time...

Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica

Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica is an Estonian Liberal Conservative political party. It was founded on 4 June 2006 when two conservative parties, Pro Patria Union and Res Publica merged. Up to the 2007 parliamentary elections, the party held 32 seats out of 101 in the Riigikogu and one of...

| IRL
| in government

Andrus Ansip's cabinet

Andrus Ansip is the current Prime Minister of Estonia; his first cabinet took office on 12 April 2005 after being approved by Riigikogu by 53 members out of 101. His cabinet was formed with pragmatic calculations, as it consisted of ministers from free market liberal Reform Party of Estonia,...

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| National Coalition Party
| Kok
| leader of government coalition

Jyrki Katainen's cabinet

Jyrki Katainen's cabinet is the 72nd cabinet of Finland, formed as a result of the 2011 post-parliamentary election negotiations between the Finnish parliamentary parties...

|-
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| Union for a Popular Movement

Union for a Popular Movement

The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...

| UMP
| in government

13th Legislature (France)

The 13th Legislature of France is the current parliamentary cycle started in June 2007 and scheduled to last until June 2012. It was created after the 2007 legislative election that took place on 10 and 17 June 2007...

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| United National Movement
| UNM
| in government
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| Christian-Democratic Movement

Christian-Democratic Movement (Georgia)

The Christian-Democratic Movement is a political party in Georgia, founded in February 2008 and led by Giorgi Targamadze, formerly a Imedi TV anchor who had once been a Member of the Parliament of Georgia and a close ally of Aslan Abashidze, then a regional leader of Adjara...

| KDM
| in opposition
|-
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| Christian Democratic Union

Christian Democratic Union (Germany)

The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...

| CDU
| leader of government coalition
|-
|
| Christian Social Union of Bavaria

Christian Social Union of Bavaria

The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany...

| CSU
| leader of government coalition in Bavaria, junior party in federal government coalition
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| New Patriotic Party

New Patriotic Party

-External links:*...

| NPP
| in opposition
|-
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| New Democracy

New Democracy (Greece)

New Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic...

| ND
| in opposition
|-
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| Unionist Party

Unionist Party (Guatemala)

The Unionist Party is a conservative political party in Guatemala, who advocates the re-creation of a Central American union....

| PU
| in opposition
|-
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| National Party of Honduras

National Party of Honduras

The National Party is a centre-right conservative political party in Honduras and the main right-wing political party in the country. Founded in 1902 the PNH is identified with the color blue as its rival the Liberal Party of Honduras , is red. All the democratic elections in Honduras have been...

| PNH
| in government

National Congress of Honduras

The National Congress is the legislative branch of the government of Honduras.The Honduran Congress is a unicameral legislature. The current President of the National Congress of Honduras is Juan Orlando Hernández. Its members are 128 deputies, who are elected on a proportional representation...

Independence Party (Iceland)

The Independence Party is a centre-right political party in Iceland. Liberal conservative and Eurosceptic, it is the second-largest party in the Althing, with sixteen seats. The chairman of the party is Bjarni Benediktsson and vice chairman is Ólöf Nordal....

| XD
| in opposition
|-
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| Grand National Party

Grand National Party

The Grand National Party is a conservative political party in South Korea. Its Korean name, Hannara, has a double meaning as "Great National" and "Korean National." The GNP holds a majority of seats in the 18th Assembly, lasting from 2008 to 2012....

| GNP
| in government

South Korean parliamentary election, 2008

Legislative elections were held in South Korea on April 9, 2008.The conservative Grand National Party won 153 of 299 seats while the main opposition United Democratic Party won 81 seats...

Maldivian Democratic Party

The Maldivian Democratic Party is the ruling political party in power of the Maldives. It is a liberal party with its stated goal being the promotion of human rights and democracy in the Maldives. This party won the first ever multi-party elections in the Maldives...

| MDP
| in government
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| Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova

Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova

The Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova is a political party in the Republic of Moldova. The Party's Founding Congress was held on December 8, 2007 and Vlad Filat was elected as president....

Democratic Party (Mongolia)

The Democratic Party is a conservative liberal and libertarian political party in Mongolia. Its primary goals are the continued transformation of Mongolia into an open and democratic society.- History :...

New Zealand National Party

The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...

| Nat
| in government

49th New Zealand Parliament

The 49th New Zealand Parliament was elected at the 2008 election. It consists of 122 members, including an overhang of two seats caused by the Māori Party having won two more electorate seats than its share of the party vote would otherwise have given it. The Parliament will serve from 2008 until...

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| Conservative Party
| PCN
| in opposition
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| Conservative Party
| H
| in opposition
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| Christian People's Party

Christian People's Party (Peru)

The Christian People's Party is a center-right and conservative political party based on Christian Democracy. It was founded in 1966 by a group of Peruvian Christian Democracy dissidents, led by Luis Bedoya Reyes....

| PPC
| in opposition
|-
|
|
|
| junior party in government
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| Democratic Party of Serbia

Democratic Party of Serbia

The Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...

| DSS
| in opposition
|-
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| Slovenian Democratic Party

Slovenian Democratic Party

The Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenian centre-right liberal conservative and Christian democratic party...

| SDS
| in opposition
|-
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| People's Party

People's Party (Spain)

The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...

| PP
| in government
|-
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| United National Party

United National Party

The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP ), , is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main opposition party in Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe...

| UNP
| in opposition
|-
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| Moderate Party

Moderate Party

The Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament...

| M
| leader of government coalition
|-
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| Forum for Democratic Change

Forum for Democratic Change

The Forum for Democratic Change , founded on December 16, 2004, is the main opposition party in Uganda. FDC was founded as an umbrella body mostly for disenchanted former members and followers President Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Movement...

| FDC
| in opposition
|-
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| Conservative and Unionist Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

| GOP
| majority in House, minority in Senate
|-
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| Project Venezuela

Project Venezuela

Project Venezuela is a political party in Venezuela.At the legislative elections, 30 July 2000, the party won 7 out of 165 seats in the National Assembly of Venezuela. The legislative elections of 2006 were boycotted by the party...

| PV
| in opposition
|}

Associate members

Party	Abbr	Government
Partyja BPF	PBNF	in opposition
United Civil Party of Belarus United Civil Party of Belarus The United Civil Party of Belarus is a centre-right, liberal-conservative party in Belarus. The party opposes the government of Alexander Lukashenko, generally participates in the country's elections, but doesn't have a single member in parliament...	UCP	in opposition
Nationalist Democratic Action Nationalist Democratic Action Nationalist Democratic Action is a right-wing political party in Bolivia led by Jorge Quiroga. ADN was founded on March 23, 1979 by the military dictator Hugo Banzer after he stepped down from power. It later expanded to include the Revolutionary Left Party and a faction of the Bolivian Socialist...	ADN	in opposition
New Rights	NRP	in opposition
Nationalist Party Nationalist Party (Malta) The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the...	PN	in government
RENAMO		in opposition
Democratic Turnhalle Alliance	DTA	in opposition
Panameñista Party Panameñista Party - Founding and early history :The party is the oldest in Panama. It was founded in 1932 by Arnulfo Arias Madrid, a prominent medical , as the National Revolutionary Party. Its membership largely came from Patriotic Communal Action, a nationalist organization that opposed the large amount of...	PP	in government
Union of Right Forces Union of Right Forces The Union of Right Forces, or SPS , was a Russian democratic opposition party associated with free market reforms, privatization, and the legacy of the 'Young Reformers' of the 1990s: Anatoly Chubais, Boris Nemtsov, and Yegor Gaidar. Nikita Belykh was the last party's leader...	SPS	in opposition
People's Action Movement People's Action Movement The People's Action Movement is a political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The party currently holds two of the eleven seats in the National Assembly.-History:...	PAM	in opposition
Party for Democracy and Progress	Chadema	in opposition

Observers

Country	Party	Abbr	Government
	Party of Democratic Progress Party of Democratic Progress The Party of Democratic Progress is a Serbian political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the third-largest party in Republika Srpska.-History:...	PDP	in opposition
	G17 Plus G17 Plus G17 Plus , abbreviated to G17+, is a centre-right political party in Serbia. With 22 seats in the National Assembly, it is the third-largest party, and currently participates in a coalition with, amongst others, the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party...	G17+

}
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External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Full members

Associate members

Observers

See also

External links