Brice Oligui Nguema has secured a landslide victory in Gabon’s presidential election, garnering 90.35% of the votes, according to provisional results announced by the nation’s interior minister.
Nguema, who led a coup in August 2023 that ousted the Bongo family’s long-standing rule, campaigned on a platform of change and anti-corruption.
“We must build a new Gabon, one that serves all its people,” Nguema stated during his campaign, pledging to diversify Gabon’s oil-reliant economy and address persistent poverty affecting approximately one-third of its 2.5 million citizens.
The election saw a notable turnout of 70.40%, a substantial increase from the 56.65% recorded in the contested August 2023 election that triggered the coup. Nguema’s closest opponent, Alain Claude Bilie By Nze, former prime minister under Ali Bongo, received a mere 3.02% of the vote.
Nguema’s victory grants him a seven-year term, renewable once, under Gabon’s new constitution approved last November. While he has promised a departure from the Bongo era, his own history includes ties to the former regime, having served as an aide-de-camp to Ali Bongo’s father, Omar Bongo, who ruled Gabon for over four decades.
Mucahid Durmaz, senior Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, noted that “a democratically elected government with a clear mandate will be better positioned to engage with multilateral partners and pursue fiscal reforms and debt restructuring, essential for establishing macroeconomic stability”. The nation’s economy has shown modest growth, with a 2.9% increase projected for 2024, driven by infrastructure projects and increased commodity production.