The 2009 Gabonese protests was rioting and popular disturbances with immediate unrest and violent opposition-led street demonstrations and growing civil disobedience movement across Port Gentil and Libreville in

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

after the immediate results of the

2009 Gabonese presidential election Early presidential elections were held in Gabon on 30 August 2009.

was announced. Two were left dead amid the unrest, clashes and fighting between the rival forces. French interference in the actions sparked national outrage, one of the causes if the immediate unrest.

Background

The protests began as an opposition attempt to protest a gay at electoral difficulties, widespread irregularities and corruption in the election campaigns, according to the opposition, gained support of the president

Ali Bongo Ali Bongo Ondimba (born Alain-Bernard Bongo; 9 February 1959), also known as Ali Bongo and Ali Ben Bongo, is a Gabonese former politician who was the third president of Gabon from 2009 to 2023. He is a member of the Gabonese Democratic Party. He ...

and the votes was forced to be in favour of his own party (he is the son of former president

Omar Bongo El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo; 30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese politician who was the second President of Gabon for 42 years, from 1967 until his death in 2009. Omar Bongo was promoted to key positions a ...

). The nationwide and widespread social protests and anti-election protests was caused by the results, sparking tensions and violence.

Protests

Security forces fired

Tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...

at opposition rallies in Port Gentil, the epicentre of the massive demonstrations against the results of the elections, despite police presence. Thousands of demonstrators set fire to tires and trash boxes, while in Libreville, protesters chanted slogans against the president and the results, and called for fresh elections. All of its 10,000 citizens were told to stay in lockdown despite the violence, and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

ordered troops into the cities. The protests continued for the next two days, with two killed in the battles with police and protesters on 5 September. Prisoners was also released, seeing the invasion of opposition-inmates in prison camps. Large-scale violence (by

Riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police who act in the role of riot police in particular situations or they may be separate units organi ...

) and the mass demonstrations was largely ignored by the government-sponsored media, however, other media outlets did full coverage on the protests. Protests over the disputed elections resumed on 4-5 September, despite severe lockdown and clashes. Strikes paralysed most of the eastern city of Port Gentil and two were killed in the citywide uprising. The movement called for stronger elections, the cancellation of the vote, recount of the election despite widespread irregularities.

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

reported widespread fraud during the elections.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabonese protests, 2009 2009 in Gabon Protests against results of elections Protests in Gabon 2009 protests

Background

Protests

See also

References