Gabon votes in 2023 coup mastermind Brice Nguema as new President

Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, the military general who led the 2023 coup in Gabon, has been officially declared the winner of the presidential election in the country, securing 90.35% of the vote, according to provisional results released by the national electoral commission on Sunday.

Announcing the results in a nationally televised address, Interior Minister Hermann Immongault, who also chairs the electoral commission, stated, “Elected, with the absolute majority of this vote, with 575,222 votes, or 90.35%, Mr. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema. Thank you.”

Oligui, 50, faced seven other candidates, including former Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze, who secured only 3% of the total votes. None of the other contenders posed a significant threat to the former coup leader’s sweeping dominance.

This election marks Gabon’s first since the ousting of President Ali Bongo Ondimba in August 2023, which ended the Bongo family’s long-standing rule. Oligui, then head of the elite Republican Guard, led the peaceful military takeover and vowed to reform the nation and return it to democratic rule.

While the victory is set to solidify Oligui’s transition from interim military ruler to a civilian president, concerns about the fairness of the electoral process linger. Critics cite a short campaign period, weak opposition structures, and limitations on press freedom as key obstacles to a truly open contest.

Supporters, however, view Oligui as a unifying and stabilizing figure, praising his anti-corruption stance and pledges to diversify Gabon’s economy, which is heavily reliant on oil.

In his expected victory speech, Oligui is anticipated to lay out his plans for constitutional reforms and a new political direction for the central African country.

International observers are yet to release their assessment of the electoral process, and the political opposition has remained largely quiet in the immediate aftermath of the announcement.

Gabon now enters a new phase as it prepares for life under a democratically elected government the first since the political shake-up of 2023.