Gabon elects new president with junta chief frontrunner

Gabon prepares for historic presidential election with junta chief Oligui Nguema as front-runner after Bongo dynasty rule.

Gabon votes on Saturday (April 12, 2025) to pick a president with junta chief Brice Oligui Nguema, the hot favourite to become the oil-rich country’s first elected leader since his August 2023 coup.

Nineteen months after he ended more than five decades of Bongo dynastic rule widely viewed as corrupt, the 50-year-old career soldier has predicted a “historic victory” for himself against seven hopefuls.

Voters are expected to head to the polls between 7:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (0630 and 1700 GMT) on Saturday, with Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze, the last prime minister under ousted leader Ali Bongo, widely considered Mr. Oligui’s most credible challenger.

The central African nation’s interior ministry has promised to release the results by April 16 at the latest.

Mr. Oligui, throughout a truncated campaign, has sought to shed his military strongman image, tapping into social media dance trends while styling himself as the “candidate of the people”.

To comply with the new electoral code voted on in January, the junta chief has even temporarily hung up his general’s uniform to run for a seven-year term.

“He has brought change. We’ve noticed that in a year and a half he has done what the others had not been able to do in 50” years, said 49-year-old teacher Karen Minkoue, attending a rally on the Saturday before the vote.