Sylla was the party's presidential candidate again in the 1997 elections, but received only 1% of the vote. The party then boycotted the July 1997 parliamentary elections following the annulment of the April elections,[3] in which it had received 2% of the vote. The boycott led to a split in the party, with moderates breaking away to form the National Rally for Democracy, which did run in the elections, winning one seat.