"LE GABON ENERVANT" OR "ANNOYING GABON"

English version First Raymond Ndong-Sima was appointed and then Ali Bongo gave him a piece of paper with the names of those in "his" government. So dear compatriots, you waited for many days: what is new? Nothing! Due to the nature of the regime imposed on the Gabonese people since 1967 by his father, Ali Bongo has a strong incentive to maintain the status quo and to limit any chance of real change in the country that could really threaten his family control of ultimate power. For this purpose, he must use the language and artifice of change, while at the same time diluting to its maximum the possibility of the formation of an alternate center of political strength in Gabon. Because of the way the election of 2009 occurred and the blatant parody and imposture that brought Ali Bongo to power, large segments of the Gabonese population were very hostile to what they perceived to be the instauration of a monarchy in their country. From a grass roots perspect...

English Version Ali Bongo has just shown that he will perpetuate the same old establishment tested system of changing prime ministers to give to the Gabonese people the illusion that something is changing in Gabon. But he is only kidding himself because the people want real power in their hands and not some cosmetic feel good nominations that really do not have any kind of power to transform the country fundamentally. Raymond Ndong-Sima has been appointed prime minister. This appointment has one and only objective. To send a message to the population of Woleu-Ntem with the expectation that they would appreciate this gesture and thus start singing the praise of Ali Bongo. The second objective is to drive a wedge within the Fang ethnic group of which both Paul Biyoghe-Mba the former Prime minister and Raymond Ndong-Sima the new one, belong. Paul Biyoghe-Mba is from the Estuary region while Raymond Ndong-Sima is from the Woleu-Ntem region. In making this appointment, A...

English version According to preliminary figures after close to 70% of the vote count, election monitors who are now counting ballots to determine who among the 14 presidential candidates may have won, say that it appears that no candidate had gotten the necessary 50%, making a runoff inevitable. It looks like the run-off would oppose Macky Sall and Abdoulaye Wade. Version Française D'après les résultats préliminaires tenant sur 70% du dépouillage, les observateurs électoraux comptant les votes pour départager les 14 candidats à la présidentielle, affirment qu'aucun ne serait en mesure d'obtenir les 50% requis pour la victoire. Un second tour devient inévitable. Il semble que ce second tour opposera Macky Sall à Abdoulaye Wade.

English version You can click here to have access to a site that present results live as they become available. Version Française Vous pouvez cliquer sur le lien suivant pour avoir accès à un site qui donne les résultats en temps réel.

English Version The newspaper “The New York Times” has published the following article about the situation in Senegal. This article is very relevant for Gabon as well.   Strangling Democracy in Senegal An Atypical Unrest Troubles Senegal’s Election Season SENEGAL was once considered West Africa’s oasis of stability, but now it is a place of deadly repression. This year, at least six people have been killed, dozens injured and scores arrested during protests over President Abdoulaye Wade’s efforts to run for a third term in the election to be held Sunday. Even though the Constitution sets a two-term limit for the president, Senegal’s Constitutional Council has ruled — based on a disputed legal interpretation — that Mr. Wade is eligible to run again. A close look at his time in office, however, suggests that granting him a third term would be terrible for democracy. Mr. Wade was celebrated as a symbol of democracy in March 2000, when he was elected preside...

English Version Voters in Senegal go to the polls on Sunday, 26 February 2012, despite ongoing opposition protests against the candidacy of President Abdoulaye Wade. Senegal is experiencing unprecedented turmoil over the 85-year-old president's refusal to set aside his controversial bid for a third term. Members of Senegal's opposition movement say they will continue daily protests to force Wade to withdraw his candidacy. Led by several opposition candidates, demonstrators continue to try to reach the Place de l'Independence in the heart of downtown Dakar - where demonstrations are prohibited ahead of Sunday's vote. In this post we offer an interview of one of the candidates: Djibril Ngom. Version française Les électeurs Sénégalais doivent se rendre aux urnes le dimanche 26 Février 2012, en dépit de la contestation en cours, de l'opposition contre la candidature du président Abdoulaye Wade. Le Sénégal connaît des turbulences sans pré...

English version Paulette Oyane-Ondo, a Gabonese lawyer gave the following address at a press conference on Wednesday, 22 February 2012. Hello, Thank you all for coming! To maintain compliance with institutional rules governing this type of exercise, I will first make an opening statement. Then you could ask the questions you would want with the hope that they would still be relevant to the topic at hands and I will try to answer them. As part of its activities, the CDDH decided to initiate a cycle of conferences on the obstacles to democratization and the effectiveness of the rule of law in our country. For this first press conference, the CDDH took the liberty to reflect on the Constitutional Court which seems to us, to play a toxic role. It is the institution, we believe that is the most guilty of the obstacles currently observed in our country against the establishment of democracy. So this is, as you have guessed, a passionate and exciting theme. Before getti...