Gabon Military Ruler to Run in Presidential Election

Gabon’s junta leader, General Brice Oligui Nguema, has announced his intention to run in the April 12 presidential election, which will return the country to civilian rule. Nguema, who led the August 2023 coup that ousted former president Ali Bongo Ondimba, had remained tight-lipped about aspirations to run as a civilian president until now.

Nguema announced his election bid while addressing crowds of supporters in the capital, Libreville, stating that his decision came “after careful reflection and in response to your many appeals.” The announcement instantly marks him as the favorite to win the election, as his popularity has remained high with citizens who see him as a reformer.

Last November’s constitutional referendum highlighted Nguema’s strong public approval level, with over 90 percent voting in favor of the new constitution. Herbert Mba Aki, an assistant professor of political science at the Omar Bongo University, told OkayAfrica before the referendum that the new constitution would be adopted because “most of the public really like the president and to them, it’s not about what is written inside the project – [Voting ‘Yes’] means that you are for the president.”

The new constitution bars members of the same family from succeeding each other in office, a move meant to preempt the recurrence of the Bongo family’s 55-year dynastic rule. However, it retains the hyper-presidential system in place before the coup, with the president reserving the power to dissolve the National Assembly. Presidents are also eligible for two 7-year terms.

Earlier this year, the transitional parliament adopted a new electoral code, which allows magistrates and members of security forces to run for office, a decision that critics deem favorable to Nguema and members of his government who are in the military.

Some opposition parties and civil society organizations had advocated that members of the transitional government, some of whom had served in the previous administration, should be exempted from running for public office. However, the current political situation clears the runway for Nguema and other allies to remain at the helm of affairs.

Nguema and other mutinous soldiers ousted the previous government after election results, announced around 3:30 a.m. WAT, reinstated Ali Bongo as president for a third term. Prior to the 2023 elections, Parliament reduced term periods to 5 years, down from 7 years, but it also abolished term limits. Bongo, who had already served two 7-year terms, was deeply unpopular, and his reelection in 2016 was marked by widespread allegations of electoral fraud and violent protests. He had replaced his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled Gabon for 41 years.

Shortly after the coup, Nguema was sworn in as interim head of state, and he pledged to return power to the people through the organization of free, transparent and credible elections.