Presidential elections were held 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 nort ...

on 5 December 1993, the first time more than one candidate had contested a presidential election in the country. Incumbent

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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

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 as ...

, in power since 1967, sought a five-year term against twelve other candidates. According to official results Bongo won in the first round with 51.2% of the vote. However, the main opposition leader,

Paul Mba Abessole Paul Mba Abessole (born October 9, 1939
, ''Afrique Express'', number 244, February 6, 2002 . ...

, alleged fraud, claimed victory, and threatened to form a rival government. Riots in 1994 practically brought the country to a standstill until Bongo agreed to attend a peace conference with opposition groups in September 1994, in which a coalition government was formed until the 1996 parliamentary election, which Bongo's

Gabonese Democratic Party The Gabonese Democratic Party (french: Parti Démocratique Gabonais, abbreviated PDG), is the ruling and dominant political party of Gabon. Between 1968 and 1990 it was the sole legal party. History The party was established as the Gabonese Dem ...

won by a landslide.

Campaign

Bongo was supported by the "New Alliance", a coalition that included the

Association for Socialism in Gabon The Association for Socialism in Gabon (french: Association pour le socialisme au Gabon, APSG) was a political party in Gabon. History After the restoration of multi-party democracy, the party won six seats in the 1990 parliamentary elections. ...

, the

Circle of Liberal Reformers The Circle of Liberal Reformers (french: Cercle des Libéraux Réformateurs, CLR) is a political party in Gabon. History The CLR was formed in 1993 as a breakaway from the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), and was led by Jean-Boniface Ass ...

, the

Gabonese Socialist Union The Gabonese Socialist Union (french: Union socialiste gabonaise, abbreviated USG) is a political party in Gabon. Initially an opposition party founded by formerly exiled student activists, the party aligned itself with the ruling majority. Histo ...

and the People's Unity Party.

Results

Based on exit polling at the time of the election, the news organization

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

placed Bongo's share of the vote at about 37%. Voter turnout was 88.1%. Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) ''Elections in Africa: A data handbook'', p404

References

{{Gabonese elections Presidential elections in Gabon

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

December 1993 events in Africa