Gabon: Pro-Bongo officials and the new party leadership fight over control of the PDG seat

The internal crisis rocking the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) has reached a new peak. On July 21, 2025, pro-Bongo leaders attempted to regain control of the party's headquarters in Libreville, which had been occupied by a rival leadership since January. A political battle with significant symbolic and strategic stakes.

A seat that has become the symbol of a disputed power

Since the August 2023 coup, the PDG, the former ruling party, has been mired in a leadership crisis. Two camps are opposed: on one side, the pro-Bongo party , loyal to former President Ali Bongo Ondimba; on the other, a new leadership elected in January 2025 at a congress supported by the transitional authorities.

Pro-Bongo supporters want to regain control

A meeting announced despite tensions

Pro-Bongo leaders are scheduled to meet this Monday, July 21, at the PDG's national headquarters. This initiative is being led by Ali Akbar Onanga Y'Obegue, recently appointed secretary general by Ali Bongo himself, who is in exile in London. The stated objective: to reaffirm their legitimacy within the party.

Access to the seat is highly contested

But the current leadership, led by Blaise Louembé (president) and Angélique Ngoma (general secretary), firmly opposes this attempt. According to them, the congress of January 31, 2025, enacted a new governance structure for the CEO, discreetly supported by the military authorities.

A battle for CEO legitimacy

Legal status versus political support

Pro-Bongo supporters demand statutory continuity for the party, arguing that Ali Bongo remains chairman of the PDG according to the founding texts. Conversely, their opponents advance the need for democratic renewal, embodied by their election at a formal congress.

The risk of an open split

This confrontation threatens the unity of a party already weakened by the transition. A split between pro-Bongo supporters and those in favor of the new leadership could permanently weaken the PDG, a former pillar of Gabonese power for more than five decades.

What future for the Gabonese Democratic Party?

July 21 could be a decisive day for the CEO's future. Tensions between the two factions, increasingly visible, risk leading to open clashes, or even a legal crisis over the legitimacy of the headquarters and its leadership.

For pro-Bongo supporters, this battle is an attempt to preserve Ali Bongo's political legacy. For their opponents, it's a time for renewal. A multifaceted clash between loyalty, power, and political transition.