Congress for Democracy and Progress - Definition and Overview

The Congress for Democracy and Progress (Congrès pour la Démocratie et le Progrès) is the ruling political party in Burkina Faso. It was founded in October 1987 by that country's current President, Blaise Compaoré, immediately after he came to power in a military coup d'état. Until 1996 it was known as the Party for Democracy and Progress (French: Parti pour la Démocratie et le Progrès). In 1996 the party name was changed to its current name.

The party initially claimed to be a Marxist party, but it officially abandoned Marxism on August 1, 1997. Since the reastablishment of the office of Prime Minister in 1992, all Prime Ministers of Burkina Faso have been members of this party, as have most other national officials, and the party has the most seats in Parliament.