Gabonese presidential election, 1998

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Presidential elections were held in Gabon on 6 December 1998. Incumbent President Omar Bongo Ondimba, in power since 1967, sought a seven-year term against five other candidates. It was Gabon's second multi-party presidential election and, despite low turnout and polling problems, Bongo won the election with 66.88% of the vote. [1] [2]

Gabon country in Africa

Gabon, officially the Gabonese Republic, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, Gabon is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo on the east and south, and the Gulf of Guinea to the west. It has an area of nearly 270,000 square kilometres (100,000 sq mi) and its population is estimated at 2 million people. Its capital and largest city is Libreville.

Contents

Campaign

In late July 1998, the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) called for Bongo to run for re-election, praising him as a "trump card for the third millennium". Also in July, the opposition National Woodcutters' Rally (RNB) split into two factions, one headed by Paul M'ba Abessole and one headed by Pierre-Andre Kombila, after Kombila was expelled from the party. [3]

Gabonese Democratic Party ruling and dominant political party of Gabon

The Gabonese Democratic Party, is the ruling and dominant political party of Gabon. Between 1968 and 1990 it was the sole legal party.

Pierre Mamboundou of the Union of the Gabonese People (UPG) ran as the candidate of the High Council of the Resistance, a coalition of opposition parties that included the UPG, the African Forum for Reconstruction, the Mebiame Group, MORENA–Original and the Socialist Emancipation Movement of the People. [4] [5] The Gabonese Progress Party (PGP) of Pierre-Louis Agondjo Okawé supported Mamboundou. [6]

Pierre Mamboundou was a Gabonese politician. He was President of the Union of the Gabonese People (UPG), an opposition party in Gabon, from 1989 to 2011.

Union of the Gabonese People political party in Gabon

The Union of the Gabonese People is an opposition political party in Gabon. It was led by Pierre Mamboundou until his death in 2011.

African Forum for Reconstruction

The African Forum for Reconstruction is a political party in Gabon led by Léon Mbou Yembi.

Opinion polls

The publication of opinion polls was prohibited by the National Communication Council during the week immediately preceding the election. [7]

Results

According to final results from the Constitutional Court, Bongo won the election with 66.88% of the vote. Mamboundou officially placed second with 16.54% of the vote. [8] [9] Mamboundou denounced the official results as an "electoral coup d'etat" and called on the people to begin a "graduated response" by engaging in a stay at home ("ghost city") protest. [9] Following the election, he alleged that commandos sent by the government tried to kill him on 12 December 1998. [10] While Mamboundou's call for people to stay at home was mostly ignored in Libreville, Port-Gentil was reportedly "paralysed". [11]

Libreville Place in Estuaire Province, Gabon

Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon, in western central Africa. The city is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea, and a trade center for a timber region. As of 2013, its census population was 703,904. The area was originally inhabited by the Mpongwé tribe before the French acquired the land in 1839. In 1846, a Brazilian slave ship was captured by the French navy assisting the British Blockade of Africa, and fifty-two of the freed slaves were resettled on the site. It became the chief port of French Equatorial Africa from 1934 to 1946, and was the central focus of the Battle of Gabon in 1940. Libreville was named in imitation of Freetown, and grew slowly as a trading post and a minor administrative centre, reaching a population of 32,000 on independence in 1960. Since independence, the city has grown rapidly and now houses nearly half the national population. It is home to a shipbuilding industry, brewing industry, and sawmills, and exports raw materials such as wood, rubber and cocoa.

Port-Gentil Place in Ogooue-Maritime, Gabon

Port-Gentil or Mandji is the second-largest city of Gabon, and its leading seaport. It is the center of Gabon's petroleum and timber industries. Although it lies inshore, the nearby mainland is a remote forest area and it is not connected by road to the rest of the nation. The city lies close to Cape Lopez, the westernmost point in Gabon. It had a 2013 census population of 136,462.

CandidatePartyVotes%
Omar Bongo Ondimba Gabonese Democratic Party 211,95566.9
Pierre Mamboundou Union of the Gabonese People 52,27816.5
Paul M’ba-Abessole National Woodcutters' Rally 47,70113.2
Pierre André Kombila National Woodcutters' Rally – Democratic 4,8471.5
Pierre-Claver Maganga Moussavou Social Democratic Party 3,1521.0
Martin Edzodzomo EllaIndependent1,5480.5
Alain Engouang NzeNational Confederation of Woodcutters Associations8920.3
Joseph Adrien Mabicka MaguenaIndependent5270.2
Total316,900100
Source: Nohlen et al.

Aftermath

Jean-François Ntoutoume Emane was Bongo's campaign manager during the election, and he was subsequently appointed as Prime Minister in January 1999. [12]

Jean-François Ntoutoume Emane is a Gabonese politician who was Prime Minister of Gabon from 23 January 1999 to 20 January 2006. He was Mayor of Libreville, the capital, from 2008 to 2014.

Related Research Articles

Paul Mba Abessole is a Gabonese politician who heads the National Woodcutters' Rally – Rally for Gabon and was a leading opponent of President Omar Bongo during the 1990s. He stood as a presidential candidate twice during the 1990s and also served as Mayor of Libreville, the capital. From 2002 to 2009 he served in the government of Gabon, holding the rank of Deputy Prime Minister for most of that period.

Gabonese Progress Party political party of Gabon founded in 1990

The Gabonese Progress Party is a political party in Gabon.

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References

  1. ↑ Gabon presidential election
  2. ↑ Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p404 ISBN   0-19-829645-2
  3. ↑ "GABON: Ruling party seeks Bongo re-election", IRIN-WA Update 259 of Events in West Africa, 25–27 July 1998.
  4. ↑ "Gabon: Two presidential candidates declared", Africa No 1 radio (nl.newsbank.com), 6 June 1998.
  5. ↑ Elections in Gabon African Elections Database
  6. ↑ "Gabon: Opposition leader says President Bongo prisoner of his own men", Radio France Internationale (nl.newsbank.com), 24 August 1999.
  7. ↑ "GABON: Presidential candidate accused of gun running", IRIN-West Africa update 349, 30 November 1998.
  8. ↑ "Gabon: Opposition leader protests at results, alleges assassination attempt", Radio France Internationale (nl.newsbank.com), 13 December 1998.
  9. 1 2 "GABON: Opposition calls for strike action to protest election results", IRIN-West Africa Update 359, 14 December 1998.
  10. ↑ "U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2000 - Gabon", UNHCR.org, 26 February 2001.
  11. ↑ "Gabon: Port Gentil "paralysed" by opposition strike", Africa No 1 radio (nl.newsbank.com), 15 December 1998.
  12. ↑ "New prime minister for Gabon", BBC News, 23 January 1999.
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