It was led by Ni John Fru Ndi from its foundation until his death in 2023, and receives significant support from the Anglophone Southwest and Northwest Regions.

[4] Fru Ndi, the SDF candidate in the October 1992 presidential election, received about 36% of the vote against about 40% for incumbent President Paul Biya, according to official results.

[11] In the presidential election held on 11 October 2004, Fru Ndi stood again as the SDF candidate and won 17.4% of the vote according to official results, far behind Biya.

[14] The party's electoral success remained largely confined to the Northwest Province, where it again won a majority of seats, with 11 out of 20.

Its deputies boycotted the April 2008 parliamentary vote in which the amendment was approved, and it subsequently called for a "day of mourning" in which people were to wear black and stay home.