User:Kroulacek/Spojení demokraté – Sdružení nezávislých

United Democrats - Association of Independents (Czech: Spojení demokraté - Sdružení nezávislých, SD-SN) is a small Czech extra-parliamentary party, from its foundation until 2006 known as European Democrats (Czech: Evropští demokraté).

After most of the members switched to SNK European Democrats following the merger of the both parties, European Democrats remained as a leftover subject.

SD-SN was in the past cooperating with the Mayors and Independents in the Senate. Following the lose of the party's only Senate seat in the 2022 elections, the party began to move in conservative and anti-systematic direction. For the 2024 European Parliament election, the party is a member of the Stačilo! alliance, together with Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia and Czech National Social Party.

The party was founded in 2006 under the banner of European Democrats by a former mayor of Prague, Jan Kasl. Kasl founded the party after his departure from ODS. Party adopted its current name following a merger with the SNK European Democrats. The party was not dissolved due to ongoing judical dispute regarding the 2002 local elections in Prague.

European Democrats succeed in their first-ever election, when they gained 15 seats in the City council of Prague and became second-largest party in the council.

For the 2004 European Parliament election, the party fielded a joint list with SNK Independents Association. The coalition won 11.02% of the popular vote and got 3 mandates in the European Parliament, with 1 of them being held by Jana Hybášková, a European Democrat's nominee.

In the 2004 Czech regional elections the party enjoyed a mild success, winning a 3 mandates by itself in the Karlovy Vary Region, 2 in coalition with STAN in the Zlín Region and one on a joint list with SNK in the Central Bohemian Region.

For the 2004 Czech Senate election the party nominated 7 candidates, and vote one seat in the Karlovy Vary district.

In the January of 2006, the party agreed on a merger with SNK Independents Association, which renamed itself to SNK European Democrats and most of the party members left to join the SNK.

Party members which have not left renamed the party to United Democrats - Association of Independents (SD-SN) later that year. However, since them, the party failed to gain any electoral success, losing all of its Prague city councilors in the 2006 local elections and all of its regional councilors in the 2008 Czech regional elections.

SD-SN run independently in the 2009 European Parliament election, but gained only 0.06% of the vote and lost its only seat in the EP.

The party didn't gain any larger electoral gain until 2017, when it nominated Alena Dernerová, who has been Senator since 2010 for the S.cz, for the re-run of the 2016 Senate election in Most, which Dernerová won in the first round. In the Senate, Dernerová joined the Mayors and Independents club.

Dernerová failed to hold on her mandate in the 2022 Czech Senate election when she lost in the second round and finished second in her district.

In the 2024 European Parliament election the party rans within the Stačilo! alliance with the KSČM and ČSNS. Its nominee Ondřej Dostál, a lawyer and former health expert for the Czech Pirate Party is second on the list.