The Gabonese Democratic Party (, PDG) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

. It was the dominant political party in Gabonese politics from 1961 until 2023, when it was deposed in a coup d'état against

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ali Bongo. It was also the sole legal party between 1968 and 1990.

History

The party was established as the Gabonese Democratic Bloc (, BDG) in 1953 as a merger of the Gabonese Mixed Committee and the

Gabonese Democratic Party The Gabonese Democratic Party (, PDG) is a political party in Gabon. It was the dominant political party in Gabonese politics from 1961 until 2023, when it was deposed in a coup d'état against President Ali Bongo. It was also the sole legal ...

.Messi Me Nang Clotaire, N’Foule Mba Fabrice & Nnang Ndong Léon-Modest
Le consensus politique au Gabon, de 1960 à nos jours
In the 1957 Territorial Assembly elections it won eight seats, finishing behind the

Gabonese Democratic and Social Union The Gabonese Social and Democratic Union (, UDSG) was a political party in Gabon. History The UDSG was established on 9 September 1947 by Jean-Hilaire Aubame,Wilson-André Ndombet (2009) ''Partis politiques et Unité nationale au Gabon (1957-198 ...

(UDSG), which had won 14 seats. However, the BDG was able to form a coalition government with the "Entente–Defence of Gabonese Interests" list, headed by one of its members, and five independents. The BDG and UDSG formed an alliance prior to the 1961 general elections, with BDG leader

Léon M'ba Gabriel Léon M'ba (9 February 1902 – 28 November 1967) was a Gabonese politician who served as both the first Prime Minister of Gabon, Prime Minister (1959–1961) and later, the President of Gabon, from 1961 until his death in 1967. A ...

as the sole presidential candidate, and a joint "National Union" list running unopposed for the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. The 1964 parliamentary elections saw the two parties run against each other, with the BDG winning 31 of the 47 seats. The BDG was the only party to contest the 1967 general elections, with M'ba re-elected as President. M'ba died later in the year and was succeeded by

Omar Bongo Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo; 30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese politician who was the second president of Gabon from 1967 until Death and state funeral of Omar Bongo, his death in 2009. A member of the Gabonese De ...

. On 12 March 1968 the BDG was succeeded by the Gabonese Democratic Party, which became the sole legal party. The PDG and Bongo were re-elected in one-party elections in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, before constitutional amendments in May 1990 re-established the multi-party system. The PDG retained power in the 1990 parliamentary elections, winning 63 of the 120 seats in the National Assembly. Bongo was re-elected again in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

with 51% of the vote. The party won 85 seats in the 1996 parliamentary elections, and Bongo was re-elected for a fifth time in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, with 67% of the vote. The PDG gained one seat in the 2001 parliamentary elections and Bongo was re-elected again in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

with 79% of the vote. The 2006 parliamentary elections saw the PDG reduced to 82 seats, although it comfortably retained its majority and affiliated parties won a further 17 seats. Bongo died in 2009, and his son Ali Bongo became PDG leader. He won

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...

later in the year with 42% of the vote. The BDG won 113 seats in the 2011 parliamentary elections, which were boycotted by most of the opposition.

Congresses

On 17–21 September 1986, the PDG held its Third Ordinary Congress in

Libreville Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...

; at the congress, it designated Bongo as its candidate for the single-party November 1986 presidential election. From 1991 to 1994, the Secretary-General of the PDG was Jacques Adiahénot. The PDG held its Ninth Ordinary Congress on 19–21 September 2008. At this congress, Faustin Boukoubi, who had been Minister of Agriculture, was elected as the party's Secretary-General;"Gabon : Faustin Boukoubi a pris officiellement ses fonctions"
, Infosplusgabon, 26 September 2008 ."PDG: Faustin Boukoubi au gouvernail"
, Croissance Saine Environnement, 22 September 2008 ."Gabon : Le challenge de Faustin Boukoubi au secrétariat général du PDG"
, Gaboneco, 22 September 2008 . he replaced Simplice Guedet Manzela, who had previously been the Secretary-General for ten years. Also at the congress, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, composed of 18 members, was elected. The Standing Committee included two members from each of Gabon's nine provinces, and 15 of its 18 members were also members of the government. PDG has several branches (or 'Federations') abroad, with the largest being in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Electoral history

Presidential elections

National Assembly elections

Senate elections

References

{{Gabonese political parties 1953 establishments in Gabon Conservative parties in Africa Pan-Africanist political parties in Africa Parties of one-party systems Political parties established in 1953 Political parties in Gabon