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 27 August 2016. Incumbent President

Ali Bongo Ondimba Ali Bongo Ondimba (born Alain Bernard Bongo; 9 February 1959),"Bongo Ali", ''Gabon: Les hommes de pouvoir'', number 4Africa Intelligence 5 March 2002 . sometimes known as Ali Bongo, is a Gabonese politician who has been the third president of Ga ...

ran for re-election and was challenged by former

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

Jean Ping Jean Ping (; born 24 November 1942 in Omboué)UN profile page
Large protests broke out in the capital Libreville after the results were announced.Gabon election: Protests as Ali Bongo beats Jean Ping
Al Jazeera, 31 August 2016 Irregularities such as Haut-Ogoou showing that 99.9% of the electorate had voted and Bongo had received 95.5% of the votes led to observers questioning the conduct of the election.

Electoral system

The

President of Gabon The president of Gabon is the head of state of Gabon. A total of three people have served as president (not counting two acting presidents) since the post was formed in 1960. Description of the office Election The president of the republic is ...

is elected for a seven-year term in a single round of voting by plurality; whichever candidate places first is deemed elected, regardless of whether the candidate secured an absolute majority of votes. This system is thought to be a disadvantage to the fractious opposition, which would appear to have little chance of winning unless it unites behind a single candidate.Gabon’s President Ali Bongo to seek second term in office
France 24, 29 February 2016

Candidates

Nineteen prospective candidates submitted applications to stand, and the Autonomous and Permanent National Electoral Commission (CENAP) announced on 15 July 2016 that fourteen of them had been deemed eligible.
Gaboneco, 16 July 2016 President

announced in

Port-Gentil Port-Gentil () or Mandji is the second-largest city of Gabon, and it is a leading seaport. It is the center of Gabon's petroleum and timber industries. The city is located on a delta island in the Ogooue delta with no bridges to the mainland. N ...

on 29 February 2016 that he would stand for re-election. CENAP approved the candidacy of President Bongo despite a long-standing controversy about his eligibility; his opponents claimed that he was not Gabonese by birth and was an adopted rather than biological son of

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 ...

. Due to the presence of representatives of the opposition, there was no consensus regarding Bongo's candidacy, and it was therefore approved by majority vote.

Jean Ping Jean Ping (; born 24 November 1942 in Omboué)UN profile page
Casimir Oye Mba Casimir is classically an English, French and Latin form of the Polish name Kazimierz. Feminine forms are Casimira and Kazimiera. It means "proclaimer (from ''kazać'' to preach) of peace (''mir'')." List of variations *Belarusian: Казі ...

of the National Union,

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

of the Rally for Gabon,

Pierre Claver Maganga Moussavou Pierre Claver Maganga Moussavou (born 8 April 1952) is a Gabonese politician who served as Vice President of Gabon from 2017 to 2019. He is the President of the Social Democratic Party. Life and career Born to a Punu familyFranck Salin"Pierre C ...

of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

, Augustin Moussavou King of the Gabonese Socialist Party, and several independent candidates: Guy Nzouba Ndama,

Raymond Ndong Sima Raymond Ndong Sima (born 23 January 1955"Raymond Ndong Sima : un homme d'action"

Bruno Ben Moubamba Bruno Ben Moubamba (born 1967) is a Gabonese politician. As an opposition leader, he stood as a candidate in the 2009 and 2016 presidential elections in Gabon. He served in the government as Minister of Housing from 2016 to 2017. Early life Ben ...

, Laurent Désiré Aba'a Minko, Gérard Ella Nguema, Abel Mbombe Nzoudou, Dieudonné Minlama Mintogo, and Léon Paul Ngoulakia.

Campaign

The official campaign period began on 13 August 2016. Speaking at a campaign rally, Bongo dismissed the controversy about his parentage, noting that "the burden of proof rests on the one who makes the accusation" and arguing that the opposition was focusing on the issue "because they don't have a good program".Gabon opposition chooses Ping as candidate for August 27 election
Reuters, 16 August 2016 In an interview he criticized the opposition's focus on "ridiculous things" rather than his record as President over the previous seven years.Gabon opposition leaders back ex-AU chief Ping for president
Agence France-Presse, 16 August 2016 While campaigning, he spoke about fighting corruption and highlighted his record of infrastructure development. His campaign slogan was "Let's change together".Gabon's old guard hopes to unseat Bongo dynasty scion
Agence France-Presse, 25 August 2016 Eventually, in mid-August, key opposition candidates decided to unite behind Jean Ping in order to improve the opposition's chances of defeating Bongo, as holding the vote in a single round would presumably work heavily to Bongo's advantage as long as the opposition remained fragmented. Guy Nzouba Ndama, Casimir Oye Mba, Léon Paul Ngoulakia, and Aba'a Minko withdrew their candidacies to support Ping. The government criticized the move to rally behind Ping as "

horse trading Horse trading, in its literal sense, is the buying and selling of horses, also called "horse dealing". Due to the difficulties in evaluating the merits of a horse offered for sale, the sale of horses offered great opportunities for dishonesty, l ...

whose only aim is to share out privilege and power". As the main opposition leaders had served prominently under Omar Bongo (and then gone into opposition after his death), Ping was characterized as the candidate of "the old guard of Bongo senior's cronies". Having already been abandoned by many of Omar Bongo's top associates in 2009, Bongo was undermined in subsequent years by the continuing defection of prominent politicians from the ruling

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 ...

, such as Guy Nzouba Ndama and Léon Paul Ngoulakia. A weakening economy due to the decline in oil prices was thought to have contributed to dissatisfaction with the government and was considered a factor that could improve the opposition's chances.

Results

The election was held on 27 August 2016. On the day after the elections, Ping declared victory and said that he was "waiting for the outgoing president to call to congratulate me", although no results had been officially announced. Only the electoral commission was legally permitted to announce results, and the Minister of the Interior,

Pacôme Moubelet-Boubeya Pacôme Moubelet-Boubeya (born 12 March 1963) is a Gabonese politician. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gabon from 2020 to 2022, he previously served in the same role from 2016 to 2017. He also was Minister of the Interior from 20 ...

, accused Ping of "attempt ngto manipulate the democratic process", while Bongo said that "you must not sell the skin of the bear before you've killed him". Nevertheless, Bongo's spokesman, Alain Claude Bilie By Nzé, asserted that Bongo was ahead and would be re-elected. Official results were scheduled to be announced on 30 August, but on that date it was stated that the announcement would be delayed by a few hours. Results were finally announced on 31 August, showing a narrow victory for Bongo, who won 49.8% of the vote against 48.2% for Ping. Turnout was placed at 59.5%. The opposition's representatives on the electoral commission refused to confirm the results, and they were therefore confirmed by a vote in which the opposition members abstained. Ping's supporters maintained that the mostly complete results they had independently collected showed their candidate beating Bongo by a large margin, 59% to 38%.Gerauds Wilfried Obangome
"Gabon's President Bongo re-elected, parliament set on fire"
Reuters, 31 August 2016. Notably, the official results from Haut-Ogooue (the Bongo family's native province) showed Bongo receiving 95.5% of the vote on an alleged 99.9% turnout, an impossible result sparking widespread protests. Bongo, noting that the vote was close, stressed the importance of peacefully respecting this outcome.

By province

International reactions

International

* – The European Union (EU) observer mission condemned the violence and reported various anomalies in the election process. The EU observers noted an anomaly in voter turnout in various areas, stating that it was unnaturally high. The EU requested that the government make the results more transparent and release results from each polling station. * – Prime Minister

Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...

said a public recount of the vote should be held to verify the original results. France also showed concern for its citizens living in Gabon based on the numerous arrests conducted in the country. * African Union – The African Union (AU) condemned the violence in the country and committed to send a delegation to mediate the post election violence with high-level members led by Chad president

Idriss Déby Idriss Déby Itno ' (18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the president of Chad from 1990 until his death in 2021. Déby was a member of the Bidayat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. A high-ranki ...

. * – Ban Ki-moon deplored the violence and loss of life during the protests and requested both parties reduce inflammatory messages against each other and find a peaceful solution to end the violence. * – Washington remained concerned with the way mass arrests were conducted in the country and supported the high-level AU mediation team.

Aftermath

Following the announcement of official results, protests broke out in Libreville on 31 August, with attempts made to storm the election commission's offices. Police were out in force and tried to disperse the protesters. The

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

building was set on fire later in the day. The following day, Ping claimed that the presidential guard had bombed his party's headquarters, killing two people. By 2 September at least five people had been killed in the capital and 1,000 more has been arrested. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

expressed "deep concern" about the violence. Along with France and the United States, it called for de-escalation on both sides of the dispute and pressed for more transparent detail on the vote outcome. Although he had previously criticized the Constitutional Court for allegedly favoring the government, Ping appealed the results to the Court on 8 September, hoping to force a recount in Haut-Ogooue Province. Ping warned on 9 September that if the Court did not rule in favor of a recount, "profound and sustained instability" could follow.Gerauds Wilfried Obangome
"Gabon faces 'sustained instability' if no presidential vote recount: Ping"
Reuters, 9 September 2016. The Constitutional Court announced its ruling—anxiously awaited by a public mindful of the prospect of further violence—at around midnight on the night of 23–24 September, upholding Bongo's victory. The Court annulled votes cast at 21 Libreville polling stations,"Gabon court rejects opposition challenge to presidential poll result"
Reuters, 23 September 2016.Ruth Maclean
"Gabon court rules president Ali Bongo rightful winner of September election"
''The Guardian'', 23 September 2016. while lowering Bongo's disputed score in Haut-Ogooue to 83.2% (on a 98% turnout). In the modified final results, Bongo's overall score increased slightly to 50.66%. The Court noted that it was impossible to physically recount the individual votes because they had already been destroyed. It also dismissed a request for Ping to be barred from running for President for 10 years for allegedly inciting his supporters to violence in the wake of the announcement of results. Bongo promptly called for the opposition to participate in a dialogue. Anticipating possible violence, security forces were deployed to key points around Libreville, but the city reportedly remained calm on 24 September. On the same day, Ping branded the Court's ruling as "unjust" and vowed that "we will ensure the choice of the Gabonese people is respected." Meanwhile, Bongo said in an interview that he hoped to form an inclusive government that could include opposition leaders. He also said that the involvement of the international community in mediating the dispute was not necessary: "Among Gabonese, we know how to talk to each other." Bongo was sworn in for another term as President on 27 September 2016. He appointed Emmanuel Issoze Ngondet, a diplomat who previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, as Prime Minister on 28 September. Ping said on 29 September that he would hold an "inclusive national dialogue ... to put in place the foundations of a new republic" and called for international sanctions to be imposed on those responsible for allegedly rigging the election. A new government headed by Issoze Ngondet was appointed on 2 October 2016. Despite Bongo's earlier statements about forming an inclusive government, representatives of the opposition were largely absent; although

, who placed a distant third in the election, was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister, no one associated with Jean Ping was included in the 40-member government."Gabon unveils 'inclusive' government after poll violence"
, Agence France-Presse, 3 October 2016. Ping's supporters ridiculed the claims that the government would be "inclusive", while observers noted the lack of any meaningful opposition participation."One-man dialogues"
''Africa Confidential'', volume 57, number 20, 7 October 2016.

References

{{Gabonese elections

Presidential

Presidential elections in Gabon