Gabon junta chief Oligui Nguema wins presidential election
President faces litany of problems in oil-rich country, from crumbling infrastructure to widespread poverty, while dealing with heavy debt
Junta chief Brice Oligui Nguema celebrated a huge victory in Gabon’s presidential election on Sunday after provisional results gave him 90.35 per cent of the vote.
Oligui, who ended more than five decades of corruption-plagued rule by the Bongo family in August 2023, assuming the role of transitional president, had promised to return the country to democratic rule.
“God does not abandon his people,” Oligui told hundreds of delighted supporters at his campaign headquarters, paying tribute to what he called “the maturity of the Gabonese people”.
Interior Minister Hermann Immongault said earlier that Oligui had won a seven-year mandate with more than 575,200 votes, or 90.3 per cent, of the votes counted so far.
His main rival, Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze, took 3 per cent of the vote and six other candidates failed to win more than 1 per cent in Saturday’s election.
Even before the count was completed, the official Gabonese media had announced that Oligui was “far ahead”.