Brice Oligui Nguema, Gabon’s transitional leader and the general who led the 2023 coup, has secured a landslide victory in the country’s presidential election, winning 90.35% of the vote, according to provisional results announced by the Ministry of the Interior on Sunday.
The vote, held on April 12, 2025, marked Gabon’s first election since the military ousted long-time president Ali Bongo Ondimba in August 2023, ending a political dynasty that spanned over five decades. Oligui Nguema cast his ballot at the Centre Urban Pilot School in Libreville.
His closest rival, Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze, received only 3.02% of the vote. The remaining six candidates each garnered less than 1%. Voter turnout stood at 70.4%, with 920,000 registered voters, including more than 28,000 overseas.
Oligui Nguema, 50, formerly head of the Republican Guard, pledged to restore civilian rule after taking power in the 2023 coup. However, last month, he officially entered the presidential race after taking leave from his military duties, presenting himself as a civilian candidate. With this win, he is set to begin a renewable seven-year term.
The election was seen as a pivotal moment in Gabon’s return to constitutional order. Observers from the Gabonese Civil Society Organizations Observation Mission reported that 94.8% of polling stations functioned under satisfactory conditions, and 98.6% of the electoral process was deemed transparent.
Oligui Nguema had representatives present at 69.6% of polling stations, compared to 8.2% for Bilie By Nze, according to the observation mission.
French President Emmanuel Macron greeted Oligui Nguema in Boulouris-sur-Mer, France, on August 15, 2024, during the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings—an encounter that highlighted Gabon’s international engagement amid political transition.
Despite its significant oil wealth, about one-third of Gabon’s population of 2.3 million lives in poverty. The outcome of this election will likely shape the nation’s trajectory as it attempts to navigate democratic restoration and socio-economic reform.
Africanews
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