Brice Oligui Nguema wins Gabon Presidential election with 90.35% of the Vote
Photo: Aljazeera
April 13, 2025 Hour: 2:05 pm
Brice Oligui Nguema, the leader of Gabon’s transitional government and the military figure who led the 2023 coup, has claimed a decisive victory in the country’s presidential election, securing 90.35% of the vote, according to provisional results released by the Ministry of the Interior on Sunday.
The military leader, who ousted long-time ruler Ali Bongo in August 2023, cast his vote on April 12, 2025, at the Centre Urban Pilot School in Libreville, where the election took place.
In this election, Oligui Nguema’s closest competitor, Alain-Claude Bilie Bie Nze, garnered just 3.02% of the vote, while the remaining six candidates failed to break the 1% mark.
The election saw a 70.4% voter turnout and marks a significant step in Gabon’s return to constitutional rule after the military-led transition.
Following his coup against President Bongo, Oligui Nguema had initially pledged to hand power back to civilian authorities; however, he officially entered the race last month, presenting himself as a “civilian” after being granted leave from his military duties.
With this overwhelming victory, Oligui Nguema is set to serve a seven-year term that is renewable once. This election is Gabon’s first since the 2023 military coup ended a political dynasty that lasted over 50 years. Approximately 920,000 voters, including over 28,000 overseas, were registered to vote in an election seen as crucial for a country where a third of its population of 2.3 million lives in poverty despite its vast oil wealth.
According to the Gabonese Civil Society Organizations Observation Mission, at least 94.8% of polling stations observed operated under satisfactory conditions, while the transparency of operations was deemed satisfactory in 98.6% of cases.
Oligui Nguema had representatives present in 69.6% of polling stations observed, while Bilie Bie Nze’s representation stood at just 8.2%, according to observers. Oligui Nguema, 50, who was formerly head of the republican guard, toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba nearly two years ago.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: Aljazeera-Africanews
