Gabon navy chief Brice Oligui Nguema wins presidential election

[ad_1] Gabon’s navy chief Brice Oligui Nguema has received the nation’s presidential election by an obvious landslide, in response to provisional outcomes.

The Inside Ministry mentioned on Sunday that Nguema, who led a 2023 navy coup, had secured about 90 % of the vote.

His most important rival, Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze, had received some three % of Saturday’s vote, in response to the preliminary outcomes.

Nguema, who had been instrumental in ending 55 years of dynastic rule of the Bongo household, was extensively anticipated to win the eight-candidate race.

On election day, Bilie-By-Nze had warned about “potential” issues throughout the counting, however Nguema mentioned the electoral course of was “clear”.

No shock in end result Reporting from Libreville, Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem mentioned the result of the election got here as no shock, and focus has already shifted to the president’s looming challenges.

“Nguema inherits a rustic that spent 5 many years beneath Bongo rule,” mentioned Hashem.

The Bongo dynasty dominated Gabon via a web of patronage , distributing influential posts to allies and relations.

That political construction stored energy concentrated within the fingers of some, whereas nearly all of residents noticed little profit from the nation’s huge wealth.

Gabon, house to round 2.2 million folks, sits on the Atlantic coast of West-Central Africa. It holds substantial reserves of oil, gold, and manganese and is a part of the Congo Basin — an important rainforest ecosystem.

But, regardless of its pure riches, practically 40 % of younger folks stay unemployed, in response to the World Financial institution’s 2024 knowledge.

“Individuals listed below are centered on rapid wants: restoring electrical energy, addressing meals shortages, creating jobs, and — most significantly — guaranteeing the nation’s huge pure wealth, together with oil, gold and manganese, advantages odd residents,” Hashem mentioned.

Reform or simply rebranding? Nguema, as soon as head of the Republican Guard beneath former President Ali Bongo, campaigned as a reformer.

Sporting a baseball cap emblazoned along with his slogan “We Construct Collectively”, he promised to wash up corruption, diversify the oil-heavy financial system, and spend money on agriculture, tourism and business.

Round a 3rd of the inhabitants of Gabon nonetheless lives under the poverty line.

Voter turnout within the election reached 70.4 %, considerably larger than the 56.65 % recorded within the disputed August 2023 vote, which noticed Bongo declared the winner of a 3rd time period.

The opposition rejected the consequence, and a navy coup adopted hours later.

Though Nguema now has a seven-year mandate — renewable as soon as — many stay sceptical of actual change.

“The political institution in Gabon remains to be deeply intertwined with the Bongo period,” mentioned Hashem. “The overall himself led the Republican Guard beneath Ali Bongo, whereas his most important rival within the election served as prime minister beneath the identical regime. So persons are questioning: is that this a real break from the previous system, or only a rebranding?”

In the meantime, worldwide observers and buyers are watching intently. Gabon, with $3bn in worldwide debt, is beneath stress to show it may flip the web page and construct democratic legitimacy.

In accordance with the World Financial institution, the financial system expanded by 2.9 % in 2024, up from 2.4 % the yr earlier than—buoyed by infrastructure growth and better output of oil, timber and manganese.