Gabon: The “dismantled” UPG party on the verge of returning to the forefront?

Although it has been going through a deep crisis for several years due to the disappearance of its founder 12 years ago, the Union du Peuple Gabonais (UPG) intends to seize the opportunity of the current transition to get back on its feet, contributing in its own way to the realization of the military’s projects in power. The task is already proving to be difficult.

Twelve years after the death of its founder, the charismatic opposition leader Pierre Mamboundou, its current vice president does not hide the fact that “the party is not doing well”. 34 years after its creation, the UPG is just a shadow of its former self, shaken by internal quarrels, to the point of losing more than half of its members. Today, its leaders make a very bleak assessment, but remain hopeful for the future.

To those who believe that the UPG is no longer capable of recovering after 12 years of fratricidal conflicts, Jean Claude Kombila responds: “We will rise to the challenge!” “We will try to bring life and order back to this completely disorganized, dismantled house”, the vice president pledged during a recent visit to the party’s headquarters in Awendjé (Libreville).

To relaunch itself, the former leader of the Gabonese opposition intends to seize the opportunity of the current transition. “The CTRI (Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions), by coming in, allows us to move into a new era, to write a new page in our history. And the UPG, as a historic party, must simply play its part, without thinking of personal interests, but thinking of Gabon today […] The nation’s interest must prevail”, declared Jean Claude Kombila, who warned that his political party intends to “participate in the country’s activities”.

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