The Rally of the Republicans (; abbreviated RDR) is a liberal party in Ivory Coast (). The party is the country's governing party; the party's leader, Alassane Ouattara, is the current President of Ivory Coast. History The RDR, which has most of its support in the north of the country, was formed as a liberal offshoot of the ruling party, the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI), in mid-1994. Djéni Kobina became the new party's Secretary-General. The RDR sought for Ouattara, who had served as Prime Minister from 1990 to 1993, to become its candidate in the 1995 presidential election. However, amendments to the electoral code required presidential candidates to have lived in the country for five years and to have been born of Ivorian parents. It was thought that these provisions were specifically intended to keep Ouattara out of the running; he had been deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund for almost five years and his father's family had roots in Burkina Faso. For this reason the RDR boycotted the election. The RDR held its first ordinary congress on July 2–3, 1995, at which Ouattara was nominated as its presidential candidate. Following Kobina's death, the party held its first extraordinary congress in January 1999 to elect a new Secretary-General. Ouattara was elected President of the RDR on August 1, 1999 at the second extraordinary congress of the party, and he was designated as the party's candidate for the next presidential election. Ouattara said that he was eligible to stand in this election, scheduled to be held in 2000, pointing to documents which he said demonstrated that he and his parents were of Ivorian birth, as required by the electoral code. He was accused of forging these papers, however, and an investigation was begun. His nationality certificate was annulled by a court in October 1999 and an arrest warrant for Ouattara was issued a month later, although he was in France at the time. The RDR demonstrated in favor of Ouattara's candidacy; a demonstration in Abidjan reported as being 10,000 strong was held on September 27. A number of RDR leaders, including the party's Secretary-General, Henriette Diabate, were arrested on October 27 on the grounds that they were responsible for violence occurring during protests they organized; in November, they were convicted and sentenced to prison. When soldiers rebelled on December 23, 1999, one of their demands was the