“This year, our party, the Gabonese Democratic Party, celebrates its 55th birthday”
2 avril 2023
1968-2023, the Gabonese Democratic Party celebrated its 55th anniversary. The President of this political formation, Ali Bongo Ondimba, made his speech for the occasion.
Dear friends,
What joy ! What happiness! To find you. Here, we are one big family! The pedegist family!
This happiness, alas, is tarnished by the tragedy that bereaved our country on March 9th. Several of our compatriots perished in the sinking of the Esther Miracle. Others are missing. In memory of the victims and in support of their families, I ask you for a minute of silence.
Dear friends,
This year, our party, the Gabonese Democratic Party, celebrates its 55th birthday. The CEO is 55 years old. It is almost as much as Gabon as an independent state.
The PDG is the oldest party in Gabon. But he has the ardor of youth. Each passing year only improves and strengthens it. The PDG is, in Gabon, the most powerful of the parties. You can be proud of it. Because it is to you, to you and to your commitment, that we owe it!
From the top of our party to its base, that is to say from the general secretariat to the militants, passing through all the federations, I want to congratulate you.
Congratulate and thank you. Tell you my gratitude and the love I have for each and every one of you!
Dear friends,
The CEO, our common home, has a rich history. This History, of which we should be proud, has been shaped over the decades by those who have gone before us. Let’s not forget them. Never. Honor their memory. Always.
On this day of the 55th anniversary of the Gabonese Democratic Party, I have a moved thought for our Founding Father, the late Distinguished Comrade President Omar Bongo Ondimba.
As well as for all those who accompanied him. We are all here their heirs. On this feast day, I also have a special thought for the valiant Comrades who left us during the year.
I reiterate my deepest condolences to their families. And I repeat to these families that, in this ordeal, they are not alone. We all stand by their side. The family is solidarity.
Dear Comrades, dear friends,
The strength of our party, unparalleled in Gabon, is not the result of chance which sometimes shapes history. It is explained in a rational, objective way.
Unlike other formations, our party is organized; it is structured; he is disciplined. It is also the only action-oriented party. The other formations, they delight in the challenge.
The Gabonese men and women were not mistaken. At each election, they voted for us. Because they know that the only party capable of changing their lives is the CEO! But if, after 55 years, our party is still there; that he is always more vigorous year after year, it is because his spine is straight.
This righteousness, he owes it to his values. Strong values to which he has always been faithful and which he has never deviated from, whatever the circumstances. You know these values: openness, dialogue, tolerance and peace. Where other parties practice exclusion, excommunication, the PDG practices inclusion.
It is open to all those who share its values, including those who, at some point, have lost their way. Yes, at the CEO, we have open arms! These values of openness, dialogue, tolerance, peace, we have been practicing them for 55 years. They have never left us. They live in us as on the first day.
Even recently, it is these values that led us to organize a bipartisan consultation for elections with peaceful aftermaths. This consultation brought together a hundred parties, from the majority as well as from the opposition.
During the days that these works lasted, there was no anathema, no acrimony. On the contrary, there was respect and dignity. This is why this consultation was a success. This openness to others is part of the DNA of our beautiful and great party. We must cultivate it and accentuate it.
Reason for which, I invite all the people who wish to work for the development of our country to join the republican majority. May these living forces of our country rally us to form an Alliance for the Development of the Nation.
Because it is through openness, exchange, dialogue that we manage to silence divisions and make our country progress in the same direction. Because the CEO, if he has adversaries, has no enemies in Gabon. Hate, resentment, have never been part of our political vocabulary.
After all, we are all Gabonese. We are meant to come together. Let’s never forget that!
Dear friends,
An anniversary is also an opportunity to take stock. I won’t go back, I assure you, until 1968. I won’t go back until 2009 either. I want, on the other hand, to say a few words about the last seven years that have passed.
Admittedly, all was not perfect. There are still points to improve. In some areas we have not gone as fast and as far as I would have liked. But, it must be recognized, in seven years, the distance covered is immense.
If I evoke the past, it is because, as Victor Hugo said, ” the past brings the future “. I have just reminded you that since 2016, our country has made enormous progress. In all areas. But it still has a long way to go to get it to where I want it to go. That’s why our work is not done!
In 2023, Gabonese will choose those they want to lead our country for the next few years. This will be a very important, decisive year in democratic terms. Three polls will be organised: presidential, legislative and local council elections.
None of these polls should be overlooked. All, I mean all, must be rigorously, meticulously prepared.
Certainly, the CEO is in a strong position.
But beware of overconfidence. Let’s stay humble. Listening to our fellow citizens. Let’s hear their concerns. Collect their expectations. Let’s be present, even omnipresent, on the ground. Let’s build a program that will take our country to the next level.
These instructions, keep them in mind. Because – and this is a democratic advance commonly desired by the opposition and the majority during the recent Concertation – all these elections will be played in a single round.
There will therefore be no second chance for our candidates. Get ready. Ready for a clear, indisputable victory, by KO!
Dear friends
The PDG activist is like a tree. A tree whose roots go back to a glorious past. And whose branches are stretched towards the future. Each and everyone here, as PDG activists, whatever our title, whatever our function, symbolize a tree. And together, united and united, we form a forest.
And it is thanks to this forest that Gabon will build its prosperity. Happy 55th birthday everyone!
God bless you, God bless our country!
Thank you !