Politics Gabon elects new head of state after military coup
More than a year and a half after the coup d'état, the people of Gabon are electing a new head of state for the first time today. The election marks a return to civilian rule in the forest- and oil-rich African coastal country on the equator following the coup in August 2023.
12.04.2025, 08:42
12.04.2025, 08:43
SDA
Interim President General Brice Oligui Nguema (50), who led the bloodless coup d'état against his cousin, President Ali Bongo Ondimba, is considered the favorite. The most important opponent is former Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze. A total of seven men and one woman are running. Results are expected in the coming days.
The coup was celebrated by many as a liberation
The Bongo family, which has ruled the former French colony in Central Africa since 1967, is accused of massive corruption. Many of the approximately 2.5 million Gabonese, most of whom live in poverty despite the country's wealth of natural resources, had celebrated the coup as liberation from a kleptocracy. According to the World Bank, almost 40 percent of young people are unemployed.
The country's new constitution provides for a seven-year term of office for the president, which can be extended once. Opponents accused Nguema of wanting to hold on to power. According to the state news agency, election observers from the EU will also be on site.
Africa has experienced nine unconstitutional takeovers of power by the military since 2020, almost all of them in former French colonies in West and Central Africa. Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea have since been ruled by military councils with transitional governments that have not yet called elections.
