Cintia A. , Lebledparle.com
General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who has led Gabon since taking over the country in a 2023 military coup, has now formalized his position through the ballot box. He secured a landslide victory of 90.35% vote in the presidential election held of April 12, 2025 according to provisional results announced today by the Ministry of the Interior.
This election marked the country’s first major democratic exercise since the military coup of August 2023, which ousted long-time ruler Ali Bongo Ondimba and ended the Bongo family’s 56-year reign. The election marks a transition from military to civilian rule on paper. Nguema, who took power after the coup and had promised to return the country to civilian rule, now becomes the first democratically elected leader under Gabon’s new constitution, approved in November 2024. The revised charter introduced a seven-year presidential term, renewable once, and aimed to reset the political framework of the nation.
Running against seven other candidates, including former Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze who received just over 3% of the vote. Among the candidates, Gninga Chaning Zenaba stood out as the only woman in the race. Though her platform focused on equity and national responsibility, she got only 0.32% of the vote. Election monitoring bodies, including domestic civil society organizations, reported that over 94% of polling stations operated smoothly and transparently, with nearly 99% demonstrating credible electoral procedures.
As Nguema prepares to transition from military to civilian leadership, eyes within Gabon and across the international community remain fixed on whether he will uphold his promises for reform and truly open a new era of inclusive governance.
