Union of the Gabonese People

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Union of the Gabonese People
Secretary-GeneralFidèle Waura
Founded14 July 1989
IdeologySocial democracy
Political positionCentre-left
Senate
1 / 100
Website
http://upg-ga.com/
Politics of Gabon
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Parliament
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    Minister: Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze
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The Union of the Gabonese People (French: Union du Peuple Gabonais, UPG) is an opposition political party in Gabon. It was led by Pierre Mamboundou until his death in 2011.

History[]

Mamboundou announced the UPG's establishment in Paris on 14 July 1989, during the single-party rule of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG). Three members were arrested in October 1989, accused of involvement in a planned coup. This resulted in Mamboundou being expelled from France.[1] The party was officially registered in 1991, and Mamboundou was allowed to return to Gabon on 2 November 1993. However, his candidacy for the December 1993 presidential elections was rejected, resulting in party supporters rioting in Libreville.[1]

The party was able to contest the 1996 parliamentary elections, winning a single seat in the National Assembly. Mamboundou was the UPG candidate in the 1998 presidential elections, finishing second behind incumbent Omar Bongo with 16.5% of the vote. However, the party failed to win a seat in the 2001 parliamentary elections.[2]

Mamboundou was the UPG candidate for the 2005 presidential elections, again finishing second to Bongo, this time with 14% of the vote. The party won eight seats in the parliamentary elections the following year. The 2009 presidential elections saw Mamboundou run for a third time, finishing third in a field of eighteen candidates with 25% of the vote.

After Mamboundou's death in October 2011, the party suffered from factionalism. Although most opposition parties boycotted the December 2011 parliamentary elections, the UPG participated, losing all eight seats.[1]

On 11 September 2015, President Ali Bongo Ondimba appointed , a hardline opposition leader and UPG faction leader, as Minister of State for Agriculture in an effort to incorporate the opposition into the government, but Iwangou refused to accept the position. , another UPG faction leader, was instead appointed to the same post on 13 September.[3][4] The party immediately dismissed Nziengui from his post as Executive Secretary.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Tom Lansford (2015) Political Handbook of the World 2015, CQ Press
  2. ^ Political Parties of the World (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, page 241.
  3. ^ "Gabon president names new opposition figure to Cabinet", Reuters, 13 September 2015.
  4. ^ Georges Dougueli, "Gabon : un nouveau gouvernement en marche pour la présidentielle de 2016", Jeune Afrique, 14 September 2015 (in French).
  5. ^ "Mathieu Mboumba Nziengui destitué de son poste de secrétaire exécutif de l’UPG" Archived September 16, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Gaboneco, 14 September 2015 (in French).


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