Voters in oil-rich Gabon headed to polling stations on Saturday in a presidential election that the country’s military rulers hoped would legitimize their grip on power.
It’s the first election since a 2023 military coup ended a political dynasty that lasted over 50 years. Analysts have predicted an overwhelming victory for the interim president who led the coup.
Some 920,000 voters, including over 28,000 overseas, are registered to participate across more than 3,000 polling stations. A third of the country’s 2.3 million people live in poverty despite its vast oil wealth.
The interim president, Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, 50, toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba nearly two years ago. He hopes to consolidate his grip on power for a seven-year term in office.
Bongo was placed under house arrest after the coup but freed a week later due to health concerns. His wife and son were detained and charged with corruption and embezzlement of public funds. Bongo himself was not charged.
Following the coup, Oligui Nguema promised to “return power to civilians” through “credible elections”. He has touted himself as a leader who wants to unify the Gabonese and give them hope, running his presidential campaign under the slogan: “We Build Together.”
In January, the parliament adopted a new contentious electoral code allowing military personnel to run in elections.
The country’s new constitution, adopted in a referendum in November, has also set the presidential term at seven years, renewable once, instead of the unlimited fiver-year term. It also states family members can’t succeed a president and has abolished the position of prime minister.
A challenger with an anti-colonial approach
A total of eight candidates are running for president.
However, Oligui Nguema’s main challenger is Bongo’s former prime minister Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze, who has promised to reorganize public finances, create jobs for young people and “end the umbilical cord” with former colonial ruler France.
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Bilie-By-Nze said he didn’t expect the election to be fair or transparent.
“Everything has been done to lock down the vote,” he said.
In a region where France is losing longstanding allies in many of its former colonies, Gabon stands out as one of only a few where that partnership has not been threatened. It still has more than 300 French troops present, one of only two African countries still hosting them.
Oligui Nguema has not signaled an end to the French military presence, but Bilie-By-Nze has said “no subject is off limits” in renegotiating the ties between the two countries.
Voters cast their ballots
Dozens of voters, from various age groups, lined up at ballot stations early Saturday in the capital city, Libreville, as voting progressed peacefully.
Jonas Obiang told the AP while waiting to cast his ballot in the working-class district of Damas that he would vote for Bilie-By-Nze because he viewed the 2023 coup as a continuation of the malpractice of the previous regime.
“General Oligui Nguema led the country with the same people who plundered the country, the former members of the Bongo regime. I will not vote for him,” he said.
His views were echoed by Antoine Nkili, a 27-year-old unemployed man with a Master’s degree in law.
“The choice is personal, but I’m telling you that for me, the military has failed,” Nkili said. “They promised to reform the institutions, but they haven’t. Instead, they’ve enriched themselves.”
But Jean Bie, 57, who works in the construction sector, said the military rule has benefited the population.
“In 19 months, General Oligui Nguéma has completed several projects expected of the former regime. I’m voting for him, hoping he’ll do more over the next seven years,” he said.