Gabon Coup Leader-Turned-President, Nguema Launches Political Party

Gabon’s President, Brice Oligui Nguema, who took power in a coup that ended 56 years of rule by the Bongo family, launched a political party on Saturday.

The new party, known as the Democratic Union of Builders (UDB), “embodies a shared desire to rebuild the Gabonese social contract after the brilliant presidential victory that ended more than 50 years of government by the Bongo dynasty”.

“It’s motto — inclusion, development, happiness — conveys a simple ambition: to unite, transform, and elevate Gabon,” it added in a statement.

Nguema, a former general who overthrew Ali Bongo, son of longtime president Omar Bongo, in an August 2023 coup, won a presidential election in April with nearly 95 per cent of the votes.

(FILES) Ousted Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba gestures as he speaks to journalists during an interview in Libreville, on August 12, 2016. (Photo by Steeve JORDAN / AFP)Despite the wide margin, international observers signalled no major irregularities in the polls.

The party’s inaugural congress drew thousands of supporters, including former heavyweights in the Bongo government.

The country’s dominant party was long the Bongos’ Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG).

“The country went through 50 years of politics where leaders were instrumentalised by their political party. I don’t want to indoctrinate anyone. I don’t want to create a party that instrumentalises elections,” Nguema said in a speech, vowing a primary system to choose the party’s candidates.

AFP