By Staff Reporter
Brice Oligui Nguema, the leader of Gabon’s transitional government and the military figure who led the 2023 coup, has claimed a decisive victory in the country’s presidential election, securing 90.35% of the vote, according to provisional results released by the Ministry of the Interior on Sunday.
The military leader, who ousted long-time ruler Ali Bongo in August 2023, cast his vote on April 12, 2025, at the Centre Urban Pilot School in Libreville, where the election took place.
In the race, Oligui Nguema’s closest competitor, Alain-Claude Bilie Bie Nze, garnered just 3.02% of the vote, while the remaining six candidates failed to break the 1% mark. The election, which saw a 70.4% voter turnout, marks a significant step in Gabon’s return to constitutional rule after the military-led transition.
After his coup against President Bongo, Oligui Nguema had initially pledged to hand power back to civilian authorities. However, he officially entered the race last month, presenting himself as a “civilian” after being granted leave from his military duties. With this overwhelming victory, Oligui Nguema is set to serve a seven-year term, which is renewable once.
It’s Gabon’s first election since the 2023 military coup ended a political dynasty that lasted over 50 years.
Some 920,000 voters, including over 28,000 overseas, were registered to vote in the election, seen as crucial for the country where a third of the population of 2.3 million people lives in poverty despite its vast oil wealth.
At least 94.8% of the polling stations observed operated under satisfactory conditions, while the transparency of operations was deemed satisfactory in 98.6% of cases, the Gabonese Civil Society Organizations Observation Mission said late Saturday.
The interim president had his representatives present in 69.6% of the polling stations observed while Bilie-By-Nze’s representation stood at just 8.2%, the observers said.
Oligui Nguema, 50, the former head of the republican guard, toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba nearly two years ago.
