Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09LIBREVILLE40
2009-01-30 14:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Libreville
Cable title:  

GABON: GLIMPSES OF RULING PARTY TENSION IN SENATE

Tags:  PGOV GB 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0018
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLC #0040/01 0301409
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 301409Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0880
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000040 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2019
TAGS: PGOV GB
SUBJECT: GABON: GLIMPSES OF RULING PARTY TENSION IN SENATE
ELECTIONS

REF: 08 LIBREVILLE 0207

Classified By: Political Officer Leslie Doumbia for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).

-------
Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000040

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2019
TAGS: PGOV GB
SUBJECT: GABON: GLIMPSES OF RULING PARTY TENSION IN SENATE
ELECTIONS

REF: 08 LIBREVILLE 0207

Classified By: Political Officer Leslie Doumbia for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (U) The ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) won an
unsurprising and overwhelming victory in the January 18
senatorial election, despite ongoing internal party strife.
Winning 75 of the 102 senate seats, many of the PDG
candidates ran uncontested. Gabonese senators are chosen by
a college of local elected officials, and the outcomes are
rarely in doubt. There were a few real surprises this year,
however, in districts where PDG senatorial candidates lost
despite PDG dominance in the local electoral college. These
small acts of "treason" have angered party leadership, which
has threatened unspecified sanctions against errant party
members. Opposition and independent candidates made modest
gains in comparison to the 2003 senate elections, but not
enough to challenge the PDG's hegemony. The Constitutional
Court announced the official results January 27. In what has
become something of a rote exercise, unhappy candidates have
until January 30 to file electoral challenges, few of which
will be successful. End Summary.

--------------
Predictable Outcome
--------------


2. (U) "Victory Without Surprise for the PDG" announced the
government-sponsored daily newspaper L'Union in its report on
the January 18 senate election results. President El Hadj
Omar Bongo Ondimba's PDG claimed 75 of the 102 senate seats
up for grabs in this election, and PDG candidates ran
uncontested in many districts.


3. (U) Because the results are highly predictable, Gabonese
Senate elections inspire little enthusiasm among the general
population. Under Gabonese law, senators are chosen by an
electoral college of officials elected in the most recent
local or municipal elections. The officials generally vote
their party line, leading in this and previous elections to
overwhelming PDG victories.


4. (C) Indeed, many ordinary citizens question the need for
a Senate, and the ruling party tends to use it as a
repository for ex-ministers and others in search of a
sinecure. Taking its cue from France, Gabon created a Senate
in 1997, ostensibly to ensure more effective local
representation. Under the Constitution, both the Senate and

the National Assembly "vote on laws, consent to taxes and
control the action of the executive power."

--------------
A Few Surprises
--------------


5. (SBU) This year's election nevertheless had a few
surprises, pointing to broader tensions within the ruling
party. In two districts, PDG senatorial candidates lost
despite their party's victories in the April 2008 local
elections (reftel). In Lamberene, PDG candidate Camille
Ndong received only five of fifteen available electoral votes
in a district where the PDG has ten delegates. Likewise, in
Booue, PDG candidate (and former minister) Pascal-Desire
Missongo carried only 8 out of 17 votes in a district where
his party holds 13 delegates.


6. (SBU) Speculation is rife in political circles about these
upsets. According to sources in the region, delegates in
Lamberene were bought off by Minister of Decentralization
Richard-Auguste Onouviet and persuaded to vote against his
political rival Camille Ndong--a fellow member of the PDG,
and the choice of the national party for the Lambarene
senatorial seat. Lambarene electors rejected Ndong and chose
an independent candidate. Onouviet, formerly a powerful
minister of mines and oil, was once a significant player in
the PDG. His influence has waned over the last two years,
however, and his latest ministerial post is widely perceived
as a significant demotion. Onouviet apparently sabotaged the
PDG candidate in retaliation.


7. (SBU) In Booue, an angry former minister Missongo told
colleagues his defeat was orchestrated by PDG Deputy
Secretary General Rigobert Ikanbouayat Ndeka, a long-time
political rival. Since 2000, Missongo held three relatively
important ministerial portfolios. Missongo was dropped from
the cabinet and joined the senate in 2006. Missongo expected
to remain in the senate as payment for many years of loyal

service to the PDG and the President. Some in his home
province called him "arrogant", however, and he is said to
have run an inept campaign.


8. (SBU) One senior politician who has moved to the Senate
is even more digruntled. Former Minister of Transport and
Civil Aviation Jean-Boniface Assele, ousted from the
government in the January 2009 reshuffle, is slated to
replace Leonard Andjembe as the senate's first vice
president. Assele, renowned for his political resilience, is
considered a long-shot contender to lead Gabon in the
post-Bongo era. Assele is the brother of Patience Dabany,
former wife to President Bongo and the mother of Assele's
political rival, Minister of Defense Ali Bongo. In a
thinly-veiled reference to Ali Bongo, Assele told the press
that Gabon should not be allowed to become a "monarchy."
Ali Bongo is thought to be in the lead of behind-the-scenes
struggles to success President Bongo, the world's
longest-serving head of state.

--------------
Heads Will Roll . . . Maybe
--------------


9. (SBU) While visibly delighted with his party's
overwhelming victory, newly-installed PDG Secretary General
Faustin Boukoubi was angered by the outcomes in Lamberene and
Booue. Boukoubi, a former minister of agriculture, took
office as secretary general in September 2008 with a
no-nonsense attitude, promising to expel anyone who "failed
to follow the party line".


10. (C) In a January 5 address to the party, Boukoubi warned
that PDG members should "scrupulously defend the interests of
the party and its president-founder in all circumstances."
He urged PDG members voted into office in the April 2008
local and municipal elections to stay faithful to the party
and vote for the PDG slate of senatorial candidates. He said
"to act otherwise amounted to indiscipline and treason." And
in the aftermath of the senatorial election, Boukoubi planted
a long story in the state-owned l'Union newspaper, accusing
senior party officials of "treason" and warning of
retribution. (Note: The story was almost certainly also
authorized by President Bongo. End Note.)

--------------
Opposition Gains
--------------


11. (U) While the PDG waged their internal battles,
opposition parties gained a little ground. The Gabonese
Union for Democracy and Development (UGDD) of Zacharie Myboto
won three seats, while Pierre Mamboundou's Gabonese People's
Union (UPG) claimed two. Though small, this represented a
significant gain from the two seats held by the opposition
parties in the previous senate. The other seats went to
parties linked to the majority and independents.


12. (U) The Constitutional Court announced the official
results January 27. Those wishing to challenge the results
have up to three days after the official announcement to
submit their formal complaint with the Constitutional Court.
The official results, subject to contestation, are listed
below:

--Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG)-75
--Gabon People's Union (RPG)-6
--Gabonese Union for Democracy and Development (UGDD) of
Zacharie Myboto-3
--Gabonese People's Union (UPG) of Pierre Mamboundou-2
--Social Democrat Party (PSD)-2
--Center for Liberal Reformers (CLR)-2
--Gabonese Party of Center Independents (PGCI)-2
--Democratic and Republican Alliance (ADERE)-1
--Independents-9 (including 3 "Batisseurs" of Me Ndoaot
Rembogo)

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


13. (SBU) Gabon's ruling PDG is not a monolith, and as
President Bongo ages, tensions within the party are growing.
The senate elections, though largely predictable, provided an
interesting glimpse of tensions at both local and national
levels. The new party secretary general has vowed to take a
hard line against the "treason" of some fellow party barons.
It is far from certain, however, that he has the authority to
deliver on this threat. End Comment.
REDDICK