Brice Oligui and the PDG: why did the President of the Transition make an agreement with the fallen party?

It is no longer a secret to anyone: Brice Oligui Nguema and the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) have concluded an agreement that makes all those who believed in the transition grind their teeth. In defiance of all his speeches of renewal, and despite the controversies over the constitutional text , the President is about to definitively betray the hope that many have placed in him. What could be the reasons for this?

The reasons for the turnaround?

Everything is already tied up. The PDG, Ali Bongo 's former party, will call in the coming days to vote "yes" in the next constitutional referendum . But what is the reason? Why betray yourself publicly, without shame? What justifies such a turnaround?

Rumor has it that this would be an exchange of some very juicy privileges from Brice Oligui, in exchange for support from the old machine for the "Yes" vote in the referendum. The President of the Transition, who was supposed to represent renewal, is said to have promised to relocate all the bigwigs of the PDG to strategic positions, in order to ensure their loyalty. And the cherry on the cake is that funding has been allocated to the party, which has greatly needed it since the coup d'état of August 30, 2023.

From Transition to Betrayal?

This is a cold shower for those who believed in real change. Oligui, who had won hearts by accusing Ali Bongo of all the evils and promising a clean break with the regime, now finds himself negotiating with the barons of the system he was supposed to fight. For many, this is proof that the transition is nothing more than a big show, a well-oiled way of keeping power in the same hands.

One Internet user says: "The PDGists are there because the shogun aka Oligui surrounds himself with them. They are his friends, his acquaintances, his family." Another comments: " Oligui came to give the PDG and the BONGO regime some strength, that's his mission."

Oligui came to give the peddler and the BONGO regime some new life, that's his mission. #Gabon https://t.co/ocb9Vt7a0F

— TYSUNG (@TYSUNG7) October 9, 2024

The PDGists are there because the shogun aka Oligui surrounds himself with them.
These are his friends, his acquaintances, this is his family. https://t.co/7qAj4whNoE

— Lord of Nkoltang (@Observateurfang) October 10, 2024

The public beginnings of this alliance date back to September 18, when the PDG distanced himself from his former spokesperson Stéphane Germain Iloko Boussengui after his call to vote no in the referendum. Everyone thus understood that with this decision the party would support the "yes".

The transition supporters are therefore left in a state of total incomprehension, they who thought that the PDG was finally out of the game. And now they discover that the same party, the one that locked down the country for decades, is still there, sitting comfortably at the table and ready to strike again.

{GABON🇬🇦}

The PDG dissociates itself from its former spokesperson, Stéphane Germain Iloko Boussengui, after his call to vote "no" in the future constitutional referendum. The party, overthrown in 2023, condemns its repeated criticism of the CTRI and General Oligui Nguema. A "put in… pic.twitter.com/vAASaRhfoo

— Lukeni (@Lukeni241) September 18, 2024

An agreement that reshuffles the cards of the referendum

The promises of a new political era are shattered. For many, this rapprochement shows that the transition is full of contradictions and false promises. Thus, voting "yes" in the referendum will not only be approving the controversial project amended 800 times, but also giving carte blanche to the return to power of a party that is far from being unanimous among the people.

With this long-kept secret alliance, the CEO is preparing his big comeback through the back door, while keeping his networks of influence intact. Brice Oligui, for his part, continues to play on all fronts, but this inconsistency, betrayal some will say, will certainly erode the trust that many had placed in him.