According to provisional results released by Gabon’s interior ministry, Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema has been elected as the nation’s president.
This election is Gabon’s first since a military takeover in 2023 terminated a more than half-century-long political dynasty. Oligui Nguema, Gabon’s interim president who led the takeover, defeated seven other candidates, including immediate past Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze, with 90.35% of votes cast.
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The Interior Ministry reported an 87.21% turnout in the election, in which about 920,000 voters, including over 28,000 from abroad, were registered to vote in more than 3,000 polling places.
According to Africa News, after his coup against President Ali Bongo Ondimba two years ago, Oligui Nguema first promised to return control to civilian authority. Last month, however, he formally entered the campaign by describing himself as a “civilian” after being granted leave from military service.
Oligui Nguema will serve a seven-year term, renewable once.
The election was regarded as critical for the Central African nation’s 2.3 million people, one-third of whom live in poverty despite the country’s massive oil wealth.
Bilie-By-Nze recently informed the Associated Press that Oligui Nguema exploited public funds for his campaign. The government has denied this.
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In almost every polling station that local observers watched, they found the election’s conduct to be satisfactory.
According to a report released by the Gabonese Civil Society Organizations Observation Mission, at least 94.8% of the polling places monitored had excellent operating conditions, and 98.6% of them had satisfactory operational transparency.
Bilie-By-Nze’s representation was only 8.2% of the polling stations examined, compared to 69.6% for Oligui Nguema, who has been acting as interim president, according to the observers.
Oligui Nguema, the former chief of the Republican Guard, expressed his pride in the people who are trying to “turn the page to join the new Republic” after casting his ballot in Libreville, the capital, on Saturday.
Bilie-By-Nze expressed his concern that unused voting cards might be used for possible electoral fraud in a video message that was posted following his vote in the country’s north.
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