Early presidential elections were held in Gabon on 30 August 2009. They took place due to the death of incumbent President Omar Bongo on 8 June, after more than 41 years as the sole president of Gabon. While the constitution stated that interim President Rose Francine Rogombé should organise elections within 30 to 45 days, the Constitutional Court accepted the government's request for a delay due to the circumstances.
A total of 23 candidates were approved to contest the elections, although six of them withdrew immediately before election day, reducing the field to 17 candidates. Despite the large number of candidates, three of them were considered the key contenders for the Presidency; Ali Bongo Ondimba, the son of Omar Bongo, who was the candidate of the long-ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG); Pierre Mamboundou, a radical opposition leader who was backed by a coalition of parties; and André Mba Obame, a former PDG member who ran as an independent and won the backing of several other candidates.
According to official results announced on 3 September 2009, Bongo won the elections with a plurality of 41.7% of the vote, while Mba Obame and Mamboundou both trailed with about 25% each. Opposition supporters reacted violently to the results.
Background
In the aftermath of Omar Bongo's death, reports suggested that, due to the need to update the voters' roll, the elections might not be held within the 45-day period. Rogombé said on 20 June that preparations for the elections would involve a "broad consultation with the active forces of the nation" and that her decisions would be made "under the triple seal of the constitution, consultations and consensus". In an interview on 22 June, Prime Minister Jean Eyeghé Ndong appeared to confirm this speculation, saying that "it seems certain that it will take us more than 45 days". Under the constitution, a delay beyond 45 days is legally permissible in a case of force majeure. Eyeghé Ndong also said in the same interview that he would consider standing as a presidential candidate if he felt he had the necessary support. The news agency Agence France-Presse reported that sources variously expected that elections could be held in September 2009, in the last quarter of 2009, or as late as 2010.
Rogombé held talks regarding the organization of the elections with leaders of the Presidential Majority coalition on 23 June, and then with opposition party leaders on 24 June. One of the key opposition leaders, Zacharie Myboto of the Gabonese Union for Democracy and Development (UGDD), said that he thought it was "physically impossible" to hold the elections within the constitutional 45-day timeframe and spoke of instead holding elections in five to six months. Also on 23 June, opposition leader Pierre Mamboundou alleged that a coup was being prepared and denounced it. The Defense Ministry denied the existence of coup plot, and some suspected Mamboundou made the allegation in hopes of encouraging a delay in the elections.
On 6 July, the government requested that the Constitutional Court delay the elections beyond the 45-day deadline, although it did not specify how long of a delay it wanted. The Court, observing that time had been needed to organize Bongo's funeral in June, ruled on 8 July that a delay was acceptable due to force majeure, but it said that the elections should still be held no later than 6 September.
UGDD President Myboto said in mid-July that he felt that the Constitutional Court's decision to allow a 45-day extension still did not allow enough time, but he also called for UGDD militants to register to vote.
It was reported on 15 July that the Autonomous and Permanent National Electoral Commission (CENAP) had proposed to the government that the elections be held on 30 August; candidates would submit their nominations from 17 July to 22 July, and campaigning would begin on 15 August. The government officially adopted those dates on 16 July.
After Eyeghé Ndong's resignation on 17 July, Rogombé promptly appointed Paul Biyoghé Mba, a PDG member who had been the Minister of Agriculture, as Prime Minister later on the same day.
The composition of Biyoghé Mba's government was announced on the evening of 22 July. It was composed of 44 members, slightly smaller than the previous government under Eyeghé Ndong. Six ministers were dismissed, including two party leaders (Mba Abessole and Pierre-André Kombila) and three presidential candidates (Mba Abessole, Oyé Mba, and Mba Obame). Kombila had chosen to support Mamboundou's candidacy. Two presidential candidates, Ali-Ben Bongo and Pierre-Claver Maganga Moussavou, were retained in their posts.
Laure Olga Gondjout, the Minister of Communication, defended the inclusion of two presidential candidates in the government, saying that there was no law against it. She said that Maganga Moussavou had been retained in the government as Minister of Technical Education because it was important for him to continue his work in the education sector while student exams took place. Mba Abessole criticized the two candidates' inclusion and called for them to leave the government. The UGDD expressed a similar sentiment, stating on 24 July that the inclusion of Bongo and Maganga Moussavou "calls into question the equal treatment of candidates and impartiality expected of the State during the election campaign". RNB President Kombila said that Biyoghé Mba was in office merely "to organize the victory of a candidate" and that he should resign along with his government; he also said that Rogombé should meet with the political class to discuss setting up a different structure to organize the elections.
On 27 July, eight candidates—Jules-Aristide Bourdes-Ogouliguende (the Congress for Democracy and Justice candidate), Mamboundou, Mba Abessole, Luc Bengono Nsi (the Movement for National Rectification candidate), Eyeghé Ndong, Mba Obame, Oyé Mba, and Anna Claudine Ayo Assayi—jointly called for the resignation of Bongo and Maganga Moussavou from the government. Bourdes-Ogouliguende, describing the situation as unacceptable, expressed particular concern about the power Bongo wielded as Minister of Defense, worrying that he could use that power to influence the outcome of the elections. PDG Secretary-General Boukoubi, echoing Gondjout's earlier statement, said on 29 July that the demands for the resignation of the two ministers were not based on any "legal premise".
Following the criticism, Maganga Moussavou said that he would resign from the government on 14 August, one day before the beginning of campaigning; he asked Bongo to do the same, concerned that Bongo's failure to do so could make opposition claims that he intended to use his post to give himself an advantage appear more credible. The Patriotic United Forces (FPU), an opposition group, announced on 29 July 2009 that it was supporting Oyé-Mba's candidacy. It described him as a "man of integrity, peace, and experience" and "the true candidate of consensus".
At its Fourth Extraordinary Congress, ADERE declined to endorse any candidate, with ADERE President Divungi Di Ndinge calling on party activists to vote according to their conscience at the conclusion of the congress on 2 August 2009. Also on 2 August, Eyeghé Ndong denied claims that he resigned to stand as an independent candidate because he was a "sore loser"; he said that in fact he did so "because it was time that I listened to my conscience".
Maganga Moussavou announced his resignation from the government on 6 August 2009.
On 7 August, violent demonstrations shook Libreville as protesters demanded that Bongo resign from the government; Gabonese authorities had previously banned the march, in which about 10,000 protesters reportedly participated. Protesters threw stones at police and police used tear gas against the protesters. Many presidential candidates were reportedly present at the march: Mamboundou, Mba Abessole, Myboto, Bourdes-Ogouliguende, Oyé Mba, Bengono Asi, Ayo Assayi, and Bruno Ben Moubamba.
Various candidates met with Interim President Rogombé in Libreville on 12 August to discuss issues related to the electoral process; Prime Minister Biyoghé Mba was also present at the meeting. At the meeting, candidates complained about problems in the electoral process, including the possibility that the electoral lists were unreliable. 11 candidates announced after the meeting that they wanted the elections to be delayed and would take the matter to the courts; according to one of the candidates, Bourdes-Ogouliguende, "in the current climate, the irregularities and disparities are too flagrant." Biyoghé Mba said that a delay was not necessary and that the electoral lists were being properly scrutinized; according to Biyoghé Mba, 120,000 duplicate names had been detected on the electoral lists by that point. Also on 12 August, Biyoghé Mba reiterated that no law required Bongo to resign from the government and that if Bongo decided his ministerial position was incompatible with his candidacy, then he would have to make an individual decision to resign.
On 14 August 2009, the former minister Jean Rémy Pendy Bouyiki, who was a member of the PDG Political Bureau, announced that he was leaving the PDG and creating a new party, the Democratic Party for Action and Freedom. The new party was part of the Presidential Majority, and Pendy Bouyiki planned for it to work to defend Ali-Ben Bongo and the PDG against the "very offensive" opposition.
Candidates
The period for the submission of candidate applications ended on the evening of 22 July. By that time CENAP had reportedly received about 30 applications; this was higher than the number of people who had publicly announced intentions to run. The period for voter enrollment was also intended to conclude at the same time; it had been extended by 24 hours, but the UPG and the PSG opposition parties sought a further one-week extension to facilitate full enrollment of everyone who wanted to vote. On 23 July CENAP released the list of the 18 candidates allowed to run for president. Ayo Assayi, Eyeghé Ndong, Duboze Lasseni, Mba Abessole, and Mehdi Teale all withdrew in favor of André Mba Obame on 28 August, two days before the elections. Casimir Oyé-Mba withdrew on 30 August, the day of the elections, thereby reducing the list to 17 candidates.
PDG
Daniel Ona Ondo, the First Vice-President of the National Assembly, said on Radio France International on 25 June that he intended to seek the PDG's nomination as its presidential candidate. He was the first person to confirm that he intended to seek the ruling party's nomination, although Eyeghé Ndong and long-time minister Casimir Oyé-Mba had previously signalled that they might do so. Although Ona Ondo said that he intended to only run if he won the PDG nomination, it was noted that he made the announcement publicly without adhering to party guidelines intended to ensure unity and discipline. Eyeghé Ndong had already expressed concerns that Bongo's death could lead to a dangerous weakening of party unity if PDG members announced their candidacies without internal party consultations. The Regional Director of Health in the north, Sany Megwazeb, also stated early on that he would seek the PDG nomination.
The deadline for applications for the PDG's nomination was midnight on 4 July. The PDG subsequently announced that ten individuals had applied for the party's presidential nomination. The four key contenders for the nomination were Bongo's son, Ali-Ben Bongo, who was Minister of Defense and a Vice-President of the PDG, Prime Minister Eyeghé Ndong, who was also a Vice-President of the PDG, Casimir Oyé-Mba, who was Minister of State for Mines and Oil and a member of the PDG Political Bureau, and Daniel Ona Ondo, who was First Vice-President of the National Assembly. The other candidates for the nomination were former minister Christiane Bitougah, gynecologist Stéphane Iloko Boussiégui, journalist Thiery Kombila d'Argendieu, National Assembly Deputy Santurel Mandoungou, banker Christian Raphael Gondjout, and Regional Director of Health Sany Megwazeb.
Nine of the ten contenders for the PDG nomination were present for hearings before the Standing Committee of the PDG Political Bureau on 6 July; Christian Raphael Gondjout was absent. PDG Secretary-General Faustin Boukoubi announced on 7 July that the party's chosen candidate would not be made known on 8 July as previously planned; this was due to Gondjout's absence and the fact that the 30-day mourning period for Bongo ended on that date.
Bongo was officially designated as the PDG candidate at an extraordinary party congress on 19 July. Stressing the importance of national unity, he vowed to battle corruption and "redistribute the proceeds of economic growth". PDG Secretary-General Boukoubi described Bongo as the "most dynamic candidate, one who is the most likely to make the necessary changes."
PDG Deputy Secretary-General Angel Ondo announced on 16 July that the party leadership had chosen Ali-Ben Bongo by consensus as the PDG candidate, although this decision still needed to be formally confirmed at a party congress.