Seven parties,[1] which were formerly members of the United Democratic Forces (FDU),[1][2] agreed to merge to form the FDN on 27 March 2007.[1][3] They were joined by an additional eight parties and political associations on 10 April, resulting in a total of 15: ACOSS, the URN, the UNDP, the RDPC, Parrreco, PR-Le National, the RP, the MURC, the FNDP, CASAP, the ADP, Poucouna, the PPES, the PNDC, and the PPDS.[1] One of them—the Union for National Recovery (URN), led by Gabriel Bokilo—subsequently withdrew from the agreement.[3] Like the FDU, the FDN supports President Denis Sassou Nguesso.[1][4]
In the immediate aftermath of its formation, the FDN was headed by a collective of seven presidents.[1] It then held its constitutive congress in Brazzaville on 19–21 April 2007. This congress initiated a two-year transitional process in the development of the party. The congress elected a National Council with 415 members, a National Executive Bureau with seven members, a Permanent Secretariat with 41 members, and a Control and Evaluation Commission with seven members. The National Executive Bureau was jointly headed by Léon Alfred Opimbat and Jean-Marie Tassoua, while Emile Aurélien Bongouandé was chosen as coordinator of the Permanent Secretariat.[3] In addition to Opimba and Tassou, the party's co-presidents, four vice-presidents were chosen.[4] On behalf of the new party, Opimbat and Tassoua signed an electoral agreement with Sassou Nguesso's Congolese Labour Party (PCT) on 15 May 2007.[2]
