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In Nigeria, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are household names.
Even illiterate peasants who might not know what the acronyms stand for understand they represent political parties.
But Nigeria is not the only country where the APC and the PDP acronyms are associated with politics and governance.
Seven other countries across the world have these acronyms in their political sphere. So, let’s move around the world to see where else we have APC and PDP political parties.
1. Malaysia
As it is in Nigeria, the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) in Malaysia is an opposition party. The political organisation, formerly known as the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party is a Sawarak-based party established in 2002.
It was founded after the de-registration of the Sawarak National Party in 2002. In a bid to expand its base beyond Sawarak, the party rebranded and changed its name to the Progressive Democratic Party in 2017.
2. Ghana
Nigeria and Ghana have many things in common even though the two countries share no geographic borders. One such similarity is that both West African countries have the APC as a political party.
The All Peoples Congress in Ghana was established by Hassan Ayariga in 2016 after the politician dumped the People’s National Convention.
Coincidentally, the central element in the logo of the APC in Ghana and the ruling party in Nigeria is a broom.
3. Sierra Leone
One of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone is the All Peoples Congress (APC). It is the main political rival to the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).
The APC in Sierra Leone, founded in 1960, has been the opposition party since 2018. The party first ruled the country from 1968 to 1992 after breaking away from the SLPP.
It became the ruling party again in 2007 but lost its grip on power in 2018 when it lost the presidential election to the SLPP.
Despite the 2018 setback, the APC is believed to be popular in some parts of the country including Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.
4. The Philipines
The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino or the Philippine Democratic Party also known as PDP–Laban was founded on February 6, 1982, by a Filipino politician and human rights activist, Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr and a group of protesters.
It was part of the country’s ruling party coalition from 1986 to 1992 under the administration of Corazon Aquino and the country’s ruling party from 2016 to 2022.
The party is known as the PDP–Laban because of its merger with another party called Lakas ng Bayan.
Like Nigeria’s PDP, the PDP-Laban in the Philippines is an opposition party. Interestingly, both parties share similar slogans.
While Nigeria’s PDP shouts “Power to the People,” its Asian counterpart claims “Strength of the People.”
5. Puerto Rico
The Popular Democratic Party (PDP) or the Partido Popular Democratico (PPD) is another political organisation acronymed the PDP. It is a political party founded in Puerto Rico in 1938.
Although Puerto Rico is a territory under the control of the United States, it has three main political parties, one of which is the PDP, which advocates to continue as a Commonwealth of the United States with self-governance.
Other parties are the Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP) and the Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño (PIP).
6. Tajikistan
The People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan founded by Abdulmajid Dostiev, has been the dominant and ruling party of the country since 1994.
Emonali Rahmon, the leader of the party has been the President of Tajikistan since 1998.
7. Togo
The Parti Démocratique Panafricain (PDP) is a fringe political party in Togo. The party participated in the October 2007 parliamentary election but did not win any seats.