Political party in Senegal
The
Party of Independence and Labour
(
French
:
Parti de l'Independance et du Travail
,
PIT
) is a
socialist
and formerly
communist
political party
in
Senegal
. For years it was led by
Amath Dansokho
.
History
[
edit
]
PIT emerged from the Senegalese branch of the
African Independence Party
(PAI). At the time of the 1960 local elections, PAI was accused by the government of fomenting unrest following a series of incidents in
Saint-Louis
. PAI was banned and went underground. The general secretary,
Majhmoud Diop
, and
Tidiane Baidy Ly
went into exile in
Guinea
.
In 1963 at the 23rd plenary session of the Central Committee of PAI a group of party cadres, including
Babacar Niang
and Tidiane Baidy Ly, were expelled from the party, accused of "anti-party fractional activity, right-wing opportunist tendencies" (Momsarew, April 1964).
In the December 1, 1963 elections PAI joined the
Senegalese Democracy and Unity
bloc.
Whereas many young cadres of the clandestine PAI went to study at the
Patrice Lumumba University
in
Moscow
, one section were sent to
Cuba
to receive training in guerrilla warfare. A group of 25 PAI guerillas entered eastern Senegal in 1965 trying to launch armed struggle against the government. The guerillas were, however, soon overrun captured and imprisoned.
In 1965 PAI split, when
Landing Savane
left to form the pro-
Chinese
Senegalese Communist Party
. This split led to the dismantling of the
Dakar
cell of PAI.
In 1966
Seydou Cissokho
took over as general secretary. In 1967 a rectification campaign was initiated, strengthening the position of Cissokho.
During the period 1965-1968 PAI had a low profile. It worked in the
Syndicat des Enseignants du Senegal
and the
Association of Senegalese Workers in France
(ATSF).
At the 1972 congress
Majhmoud Diop
, the former general secretary, was expelled. The party was now completely in the hands of Cissokho.
1972 to 1975 was in many ways a period of reconstruction of PAI. Its main publication,
Momsarev
, started appearing somewhat regularly. PAI went on to organize a students' movement,
Students Movement of the African Independence Party
(MEPAI). This would later evolve into the
General Union of Senegalese Students, Pupils and Probationary Teachers in Europe
in 1975. This student movement would however rapidly split away from the party, and form the more radical
Democratic League
.
In 1976 Majhmoud Diop and his followers regrouped. Effectively two separate parties worked with the name PAI, PAI-Senegal (led by Cissokho, technically the original PAI) and
PAI-Renovation
(led by Diop).
Soon PAI-Renovation was accorded recognition by the state to the name PAI. In 1977 PAI-Senegal appealed to the president to substitute PAI-Renovation for itself as the legal left.
PAI-Senegal called for a boycott of the 1978 elections.
In 1979 PIT formed a new youth wing,
Democratic Youth Union Alboury Ndiaye
(
Union de la Jeunesse Democratique Alboury Ndiaye
).
PAI-Senegal later registered itself with the authorities as PIT on July 9, 1981.
In March 1999, the PIT and two other left-wing parties,
And-Jef/African Party for Democracy and Socialism
(AJ/PADS) and the
Democratic League/Movement for the Labour Party
(LD/MPT), agreed to support the candidacy of opposition leader
Abdoulaye Wade
of the
Senegalese Democratic Party
(PDS) in the
2000 presidential election
.
[1]
After Wade's victory, the PIT joined the new government. Differences between Wade and PIT soon surged, and eight months after the installment of the new government the PIT was expelled. PIT joined the opposition ranks and formed part of the CDC opposition coalition.
In the
parliamentary election
held on 29 April 2001, the party won 0.6% of the popular vote and 1 out of 120 seats.
For the 2007 presidential and parliamentary elections, PIT joined the Coalition Alternative 2007. The coalition backed
Moustapha Niasse
in the
February 2007 presidential election
, and Dansokho was chosen to head the coalition's list in the
2007 parliamentary election
.
[2]
Subsequently, however, most of the opposition, including the PIT, decided to boycott the parliamentary election.
PIT publishes
Daan Doole
(The Worker) and
Gestu
.
References
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|