The UPC was established by Zéphirin Diabré in 2010 after he left the ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP).[2][3] It finished third in the popular vote in the 2012 parliamentary elections with 11%, winning 19 of the 127 seats in the National Assembly, becoming the second-largest party after the CDP. In the 2015 general elections it received 21% of the vote, winning 33 seats.