Gabon: Ali Bongo's Gabonese Democratic Party mired in succession battle

In Gabon, the succession battle within the Gabonese Democratic Party is nowhere near over.

The party elected Blaise Louembé as its new head in January, to replace former party leader and Gabonese president Ali Bongo. 

A military junta ousted Bongo from power in 2023. The coup also ended the Gabonese Democratic Party’s domination over the country’s political life. 

Created by Omar Bongo, the GDP was the country's only authorised party between 1968 and 1990.

Since the 2023 coup, the party has been looking for a way to remain relevant in the new political order but the movement faces internal divisions. 

Under Louembé’s leadership, the GDP has rallied behind Brice Oligui Nguema, the military leader of Gabon's transitional government, who won the presidential election in April.  

The endorsement was contested by some party executives.The GDP’s splinter group is led by Ali Akbar Onanga Y’Obégué, a close ally of deposed president Ali Bongo. 

Before going into exile with his family in May, Bongo wrote a note supporting Onanga Y’Obégué as the GDP’s rightful leader, according to RFI.

The newly found document confirms the intense split within the Gabonese Democratic Party and raises questions about its survival. 

Along with internal battles, the GDP also faces outside rivals.  Newly elected president Brice Oligui Nguema created his own party, the Democratic Union of Builders, on 5 July, ahead of the general elections in September.