Sat Apr 12 04:12:19 UTC 2025: ## Gabon Holds First Post-Coup Elections Amidst Controversy
**Libreville, Gabon** – Gabon held its first presidential election since a military coup ousted the Bongo family’s 50-year rule in August 2023. Polls opened Saturday morning with long queues reported across the country. Nearly one million Gabonese are registered to vote, including those abroad.
The election’s frontrunner is coup leader-turned-president, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema. Despite widespread expectation of his victory, his candidacy has been met with criticism due to controversial constitutional reforms, seemingly tailored to ensure his eligibility. The reforms, including a new constitution passed via referendum, introduced strict two-term limits and barred dual citizens from running for president – a move widely interpreted as targeting the Bongo family’s heir.
Nguema, who served as aide-de-camp to Omar Bongo before leading the Royal Guard, faces three other male candidates, all running independently to distance themselves from the former ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG). His opponents include former Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze, who despite attempting to distance himself from the previous regime, faces skepticism from voters; medical doctor Stephane Germain Iloko Boussengui, a former PDG spokesperson turned critic of the military government; and technocrat Joseph Lapensee Essingone, presenting himself as a clean break from the past.
While Nguema has been praised for a relatively swift transition towards civilian rule and maintaining ties with France, unlike other coup-led governments in West Africa, concerns remain about his ties to the old establishment and potential limitations on civil liberties. Analysts point to intimidation of critics and a continuation of unequal power structures.
Despite these criticisms, some analysts see Nguema’s actions, such as infrastructure development and moves towards civilian rule, as progress compared to the status quo under the Bongo regime. The election is being viewed as a step, however imperfect, towards a more democratic Gabon.
First Piper 