Gabon junta chief wins presidency, provisional results show
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The streets of the city of Libreville were quiet the day after voters flooded voting places, in contrast to earlier elections in 2016 and 2023, which were marred by tension and conflict.
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Gabon's General Brice Oligui Nguema (R) salutes as he is inaugurated as Gabon's interim President, in Libreville, on September 4, 2023 (AFP)
Brice Oligui Nguema, Gabon's junta head, won the presidential election with 90.35% of the votes, provisional results announced Sunday by the Interior Ministry showed.
Oligui, who ended the Bongo family's more than 50 years of control in August 2023 by assuming the position of transitional president, promised to return the country to democratic rule.
Earlier on Sunday, Gabon 24 television announced that he was "well ahead" in numerous central African regions.
On Saturday, citizens raced to the polls to cast their votes in an election that marked the end of military rule. Interior Ministry estimates put the participation percentage at 70.4%.
The streets of the city of Libreville were quiet the day after voters flooded voting places, in contrast to earlier elections in 2016 and 2023, which were marred by tension and conflict.
"I hadn't voted in a long time, but this time, I saw a ray or something that made me go out and vote," 58-year-old Catholic Olivina Migombe told AFP.
Whoever wins will have to deal with the oil-rich country's slew of issues, from deteriorating infrastructure to rampant poverty, all while working under a crushing pile of debt.
If Oligui is elected president, "he will have lots of work to do," said Patrick Essono-Mve, a 48-year-old jobless technician on his way to mass.
The junta leader has dominated the campaign, with his seven competitors, led by deposed leader Ali Bongo's former prime minister, Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze, mostly inconspicuous in contrast.
However, detractors accuse Oligui of failing to move on from the years of plundering the country's huge natural wealth under the Bongos, for whom he worked for many years.
For the first time, foreign and independent media were allowed to record the ballot counting.
According to preliminary assessments, international monitors at voting sites around the country found no serious issues.
In all, almost 920,000 electors were summoned to vote at 3,037 polling sites, 96 of which were overseas. Already, in the initial results given by state media CTRI News on Sunday morning, Oligui was the overwhelming favorite to win in about 30 voting locations, with some reporting figures of 100% vote in his favor.
