The party was established in August 1957 by a merger of the Dahomeyan Democratic Movement led by Maga and the Independents of the North party led by Paul Darboux.
[1] Like most other parties in Dahomey, it was a regional one and was heavily backed by the northern section of the French colony (particularly among the Bariba)[2] without much support elsewhere.
[3] However, it suffered from internal rivalries between factions based in Parakou and Nikki and conflict between the Bariba and Dendi.
[1] However, internal disagreements led to the parties splitting back into their original forms in 1959.
[4] The RDD won 22 seats in the 1959 elections, and in 1960 agreed to merge with the PRD again, this time under the name Dahomeyan Unity Party.