Union for Rebirth / Sankarist Party


The Union for Rebirth / Sankarist Party was a political party in Burkina Faso.
WWW unirps.org

History

The party was founded on November 1, 2000. Its president is lawyer Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara, who bears no family relationship to the late President Thomas Sankara.
The name "Sankarist" party appears to be a reference to both President Sankara and the party's leader. The party subscribed to Sankarism.
At the legislative elections on 5 May 2002, the party won 2.4% of the popular vote and three out of 111 seats. In the presidential election of 13 November 2005, its candidate Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara took second place with 4.88% of the popular vote. At the 2007 parliamentary elections, the party won four seats.
Political scientist states that the UNIR/PS was among the opposition parties that participated in the 2014 uprising that ousted Blaise Compaoré, but that it "did not play a major role". The UNIR/PS went on to support the government of Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.
On November 1st, 2021, it was announced that the party merged with the Mouvement Patriotique pour le Salut and other small Sankarist parties and organisations into a new party, the Union pour la Renaissance/ Mouvement patriotique sankariste or UNIR/MPS. Bénéwendé Sankara continued to lead this party until he was succeeded by interim president Augustin Loada in January 2023. All parties, including this one, were dissolved through decree by the junta government in Burkina Faso on January 29th 2026.