Gabon’s transitional president and coup leader, Brice Oligui Nguema, is poised to formalize his hold on power as the country heads to the polls on Saturday in a presidential election expected to deliver a decisive win for the former army general.
Nguema, 50, toppled President Ali Bongo in August 2023, ending more than five decades of Bongo family rule. Since then, he has positioned himself as a reformer pledging to root out corruption and reset the direction of the oil-rich Central African state.
Sporting a baseball cap emblazoned with the campaign slogan “We Build Together”, Nguema toured the country promising economic diversification and development in a nation where one in three people lives in poverty. “We have liberated the country to give its people hope,” he declared during his final campaign rally in the port city of Owendo.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (0600 GMT) and are due to close at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT), with results expected on Sunday. The winner will be granted a seven-year term, renewable once, under a new constitution approved last November — a move that cleared the path for Nguema’s candidacy.
His main challenger, Alain Claude Bilie By Nze, served as prime minister under Bongo before the coup. Nze, 57, has tried to rebrand himself as an independent voice, warning that the military should step aside. “Soldiers belong in the barracks,” he told Reuters earlier this week.
Still, Nze’s close association with the previous regime — long accused of election manipulation, though it denied the claims — has weakened his appeal. “He doesn’t seem to be very well placed to criticise,” said Florence Bernault, a Central Africa historian at Sciences Po.
Limited Competition, Widespread Discontent
Nguema’s status as the clear frontrunner reflects public support for the 2023 coup and his high visibility throughout the campaign, analysts say.
Roughly 900,000 voters are registered across the sparsely populated, heavily forested nation of 2.5 million, with another 28,000 set to vote abroad.
Gabon’s economy grew 2.9% in 2024, up from 2.4% the previous year, boosted by infrastructure expansion and rising output of key resources like oil, manganese, and timber. But for many Gabonese, everyday issues like electricity and clean water remain far more pressing.
In Libreville, 40-year-old electrician Herve Regis Ossouami said the country’s chronic power outages are top of mind for voters. “We talk about it every day. It’s urgent. Nobody in Gabon wants to live without water and electricity anymore,” he said.
As polls close and results loom, Nguema’s path to a full presidential term seems largely unchallenged—raising questions about whether Gabon’s new era will bring meaningful reform or simply repackage power under a new face.
