Gabon’s transitional leader, Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, has been declared the winner of the country’s presidential election, securing 90.35% of the vote, according to provisional results announced Sunday by Interior Minister and electoral commission head Hermann Immongault on national television. Oligui, 50, received 575,222 votes out of approximately 637,000 cast, defeating seven challengers, including former Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze, who finished a distant second with just 3%. The election had a reported voter turnout of 87.21%, with more than 920,000 registered voters, including 28,000 abroad, casting ballots across 3,000 polling stations.
The victory formally cements Oligui’s leadership following his 2023 military coup, which ousted long-time president Ali Bongo Ondimba, ending a 56-year political dynasty dominated by the Bongo family. Oligui, previously head of the elite Republican Guard, became interim president after the coup, pledging to restore democratic order and improve governance. The newly adopted 2023 constitution, passed via referendum, extends presidential terms to seven years (renewable once), bars family succession, and eliminates the position of prime minister—reforms Oligui has used to frame his leadership as a break from past corruption and mismanagement.
Oligui campaigned under the slogan “We Build Together,” promising unity, institutional reform, and development. His overwhelming win signals strong institutional backing and support from segments of the population hoping for political stability and economic change. However, critics argue the election was tightly controlled and lacked a level playing field. The Bongo regime, toppled in August 2023, had long been accused of enriching itself off Gabon’s oil wealth while the majority of the 2.3 million population lived in poverty. Former president Ali Bongo was placed under house arrest during the coup, later released due to health concerns, while his wife and son were detained on corruption and embezzlement charges.
Oligui’s main rival, Bilie-By-Nze, criticized the election process as unfair and opaque, claiming institutional mechanisms favored the ruling junta. Nonetheless, Oligui’s camp maintains the election was transparent and historic, marking what they describe as Gabon’s first truly democratic poll. Final certified results are expected in the coming days. If upheld, Oligui Nguema will begin a seven-year presidential term with a sweeping mandate—raising both hopes and concerns about the future of democracy in the oil-rich Central African nation.
