Brice Oligui Nguema, who seized power in a coup in August 2023, has secured a decisive victory in Gabon’s presidential election, winning 90.35% of the vote.
- Brice Oligui Nguema won 90.35% of the vote in Gabon’s presidential election.
- Voter turnout increased to 70.40% compared to the previous election.
- Nguema promised to reduce Gabon’s dependence on oil by boosting agriculture, industry, and tourism.
Brice Oligui Nguema, who seized power in a coup in August 2023, has secured a decisive victory in Gabon’s presidential election, winning 90.35% of the vote, according to provisional results announced by the interior minister on Sunday.
The outcome solidified Nguema’s hold on power nearly two years after General Brice Oligui Nguema led a military revolution that ended the Bongo family’s 56-year hold on power.
Voter turnout climbed to 70.40%, a notable increase from the 56.65% recorded during the contested August 2023 election that preceded the coup.
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Nguema’s main opponent, Alain Claude Bilie By Nze, who was prime minister under President Ali Bongo at the time, secured only 3.02% of the vote, according to provisional figures.
Economic outlook
With $3 billion in outstanding international bonds, investors had been closely monitoring Gabon’s political trajectory to see whether the country would restore its democratic credibility by conducting a credible election.
Gabon’s economy grew by 2.9% in 2024, up from 2.4% the previous year, buoyed by infrastructure projects and increased output of key commodities like oil, manganese, and timber, according to the World Bank.
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Throughout his campaign, Nguema has promised to reduce Gabon’s dependence on oil by boosting agriculture, industry, and tourism in a country where one-third of the population lives in poverty.
Nguema’s election victory grants him a seven-year term under a new constitution approved in November 2024, with the possibility of one renewal.
While he has pledged a clean break from the Bongo era, marked by allegations of elite capture of Gabon’s oil wealth, Nguema’s ties to the former regime remain notable.
