Jules-Aristide Bourdes-Ogouliguende (28 February 1938 – 26 March 2018) was a Gabonese politician who was the President of the Congress for Democracy and Justice (CDJ), an opposition party.
Subsequently, his portfolio was reduced and he served as Minister of State for Higher Education and Scientific Research from 27 March 1984[1] until January 1990, when he was replaced in the wake of student unrest at Omar Bongo University.
He was also elected as President of the International Assembly of French Speaking Parliamentarians at a meeting in Ottawa in September 1991.
[1][7] Speaking at a conference in a Libreville hotel before an audience of several hundred, Bourdes-Ogouliguende announced on 10 May 1993 that he would stand as a candidate in the December 1993 presidential election.
He later became President of the National Council of Democracy (CND), an official body charged with mediating disputes between political parties, in May 1998, and he became Secretary-General of the CDJ in September 2000.
[16] As of December 2007, he was Chairman of the Board of the Gabonese Refining Company (Société Gabonaise de Raffinage, SOGARA).
[17] Speaking in the National Assembly on 2 June 2009, Bourdes-Ogouliguende criticized the installation of surveillance cameras in the major cities as well as the introduction of biometric passports on the grounds that no laws had been passed providing for either.
[18] Bourdes-Ogouliguende ran as the CDJ candidate in the 30 August 2009 presidential election, which was held as a result of the death of President Bongo in June 2009.
[21] After presidential candidates met with Interim President Rose Francine Rogombé in Libreville on 12 August to discuss issues related to the electoral process,[22] Bourdes-Ogouliguende, acting as spokesman for a group of 11 candidates, announced that they wanted the election to be delayed and would take the matter to the courts; according to Bourdes-Ogouliguende, "in the current climate, the irregularities and disparities are too flagrant.
[25] In the December 2011 parliamentary election, the ruling PDG won an overwhelming majority of seats amidst an opposition boycott.