Libreville, Gabon – General Brice Oligui Nguema, the military leader who orchestrated the 2023 coup has been declared the winner of the April 12 presidential election securing a staggering 90% of the vote according to provisional results released by the Internal Ministry.
This has been the first election since the end of the Bongo dynasty’s 55-year rule which took place in the capital Libreville with eight candidates vying for the country’s top seat.
Nguema’s victory marks a milestone in Gabon’s political transition promising a new era after decades of deep-rooted autocracy.
Nguema, who has served as temporary president since deposing Ali Bongo Ondimba in August 2023.
He promised to “restore dignity to the Gabonese people,” vowing to return stolen public assets, diversify the oil-dependent economy and fight corruption at its core.
“I will give back to the people what they have given me today,” Nguema declared. “Everything that has been stolen from the people, I want to return to them.”
Nguema, a former Republican Guard commander under Bongo positioned himself as a reformer with insider knowledge branding his campaign under the slogan “We Build Together.”
His strongest challenger, Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze, a former prime minister under the very regime Nguema helped dismantle garnered only 3% of the vote highlighting the public’s overwhelming support for the man.
Gabon, a resource-rich but inequality-stricken country of 2.2 million people, has long suffered from the concentration of wealth and power in elite hands. Despite having vast reserves of oil, gold and manganese, the nation battles with youth unemployment exceeding 40%, widespread poverty and infrastructure gaps.
On election day, voters turned out in large numbers 70.4%, up from just 56.6% during the 2023 polls that led to the military intervention.
Many citizens expressed hope that Nguema’s presidency would finally channel the country’s wealth to ordinary people, not just ruling elites.
In less than two years of transitional leadership, Nguema has reshaped Gabon’s foreign policy, establishing deeper ties with global powers such as the United States, France, Russia, and China.
“In 19 months, I have achieved a lot,” Nguema said. “We have succeeded not just me but the Gabonese people.”
Despite the landslide win, critics remain cautious since Nguema’s deep ties to the Bongo administration have raised eyebrows especially given that many of his allies and even rivals served under the previous regime.
Still, for many Gabonese, Nguema’s rise offers the first real hope of transformation in a generation.
His promise to prioritize electricity access, food security, job creation and equitable wealth distribution resonates in a country where a third of citizens live below the poverty line despite economic growth.
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