The Union of the Gabonese People (french: Union du Peuple Gabonais, UPG) is an opposition

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

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 ...

. It was led by

Pierre Mamboundou Pierre Mamboundou (6 November 1946 – 15 October 2011) was a Gabonese politician. He was President of the Union of the Gabonese People (UPG), an opposition party in Gabon, from 1989 to 2011. ACCT career and 1989 events Mamboundou was born in ...

until his death in 2011.

History

Mamboundou announced the UPG's establishment in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

on 14 July 1989, during the single-party rule of the

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 ...

(PDG). Three members were arrested in October 1989, accused of involvement in a planned coup. This resulted in Mamboundou being expelled from France.Tom Lansford (2015) ''Political Handbook of the World 2015'', CQ Press The party was officially registered in 1991, and Mamboundou was allowed to return to Gabon on 2 November 1993. However, his candidacy for the December 1993 presidential elections was rejected, resulting in party supporters rioting in

Libreville Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon. Occupying in the northwestern province of Estuaire, Libreville is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea. As of the 2013 census, its population was 703,904. The area has been in ...

. The party was able to contest the 1996 parliamentary elections, winning a single seat in 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 r ...

. Mamboundou was the UPG candidate in the 1998 presidential elections, finishing second behind incumbent

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 ...

with 16.5% of the vote. However, the party failed to win a seat in the 2001 parliamentary elections. Mamboundou was the UPG candidate for the 2005 presidential elections, again finishing second to Bongo, this time with 14% of the vote. The party won eight seats in the

parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

the following year. The 2009 presidential elections saw Mamboundou run for a third time, finishing third in a field of eighteen candidates with 25% of the vote. After Mamboundou's death in October 2011, the party suffered from factionalism. Although most opposition parties boycotted the December 2011 parliamentary elections, the UPG participated, losing all eight seats. On 11 September 2015, 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 ...

appointed Dieudonné Moukagni Iwangou, a hardline opposition leader and UPG faction leader, as Minister of State for Agriculture in an effort to incorporate the opposition into the government, but Iwangou refused to accept the position.

Mathieu Mboumba Nziengui Mathieu is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * André Mathieu (1929–1968), Canadian pianist and composer * Anselme Mathieu (1828–1895), French Provençal poet * Claude-Louis Mathieu (1783–1875), ...

, another UPG faction leader, was instead appointed to the same post on 13 September. The party immediately dismissed Nziengui from his post as Executive Secretary."Mathieu Mboumba Nziengui destitué de son poste de secrétaire exécutif de l’UPG"
, Gaboneco, 14 September 2015 .

Notable people

* Jean-Félix Mouloungui

References

1989 establishments in France Political parties established in 1989 Political parties in Gabon Social democratic parties in Africa {{Gabon-stub