Brice Oligui Nguema, the leader of last year’s coup in Gabon, has won Saturday’s presidential election with a commanding 90.35% of the vote, according to provisional results announced by the country’s interior minister on Sunday.
Nguema’s victory solidifies his hold on power following the August 2023 coup that ousted the Bongo family after more than 50 years of rule in the oil-rich Central African nation. Gabon, with a population of roughly 2.5 million, has been struggling with political instability and an over-reliance on oil revenues.
The main contender in the eight-candidate race, Alain Claude Bilie By Nze, who had served as prime minister under President Ali Bongo, received just 3.02% of the vote, the provisional results indicated.
Campaigning under the slogan “We Build Together,” Nguema presented himself as a reformer, pledging to tackle corruption within the elite and diversify the country’s oil-dependent economy. He promised to boost agriculture, industry, and tourism in a country where a third of the population lives in poverty.
Voter turnout was 70.40%, a significant increase from the 56.65% turnout in the August 2023 elections, which were marred by allegations of fraud. The announcement of the election result sparked the coup that ousted Bongo and brought Nguema to power.
In the aftermath of the coup, Gabon’s economy had faced uncertainty, with concerns about the military’s prolonged grip on power affecting investor confidence and economic growth. However, Gabon’s economy grew by 2.9% in 2024, up from 2.4% in 2023, driven in part by infrastructure projects and commodity production, including oil, manganese, and timber, according to the World Bank.
Analysts noted that a democratically elected government with a clear mandate would be crucial for addressing Gabon’s economic challenges, including its $3 billion in outstanding international debt. Mucahid Durmaz, a senior Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, emphasized that a stable and transparent government could better negotiate fiscal reforms and engage with multilateral partners for debt restructuring.
Nguema’s win, under the new constitution approved in November, grants him a seven-year term, which can be renewed once. Despite his promises of reform and breaking from the past, Nguema’s ties to the old regime—he served as an aide-de-camp to Omar Bongo, who ruled for over four decades—remain a point of contention.
The country’s future hinges on Nguema’s ability to deliver on his promises of political and economic change while navigating the complexities of his past associations with the Bongo family’s long-standing rule.
