Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema

After serving 18 months as the President of the Transition, Brice Clotaire Oligui wishes to further uphold the aspirations of the Gabonese people by becoming the next President of the Republic. Voting for him massively means securing the foundations of the structure that is Gabon..

Nguema seized power in a military coup in 2023, the eighth in West and Central Africa between 2020 and 2023, that ended the long-standing rule of his predecessor Ali Bongo and his family over the oil-rich but impoverished nation. While Gabonese largely welcomed Bongo's ouster, some analysts were concerned the junta would seek to remain in power.

Context, Considerations, & Challenges

• Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema , who is interim president, led a 2023 military coup that toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who many Gabonese accused of irresponsible governance and major embezzlement that risked leading the country into chaos. .
• After careful consideration and in response to your numerous appeals, I have decided to stand as a candidate in the presidential election,” Nguema said during a speech to his supporters in the capital Libreville..
• In August 2023 , soldiers proclaimed Nguema, who was the republican guard chief and a cousin of Bongo, as president of a transitional committee to lead the country..
• The announcement of his candidacy came after the adoption last month by Gabon’s parliament of a new electoral code, which sets out the rules and conditions for organizing elections in the country.
• The legislation was contentious as it authorized military personnel to be candidates in all political elections in the country, which wasn’t possible in the past. It paved the way for Nguema to run for his first presidential term.

The Constitution

Gabon’s constitution, which was adopted in a referendum in November, sets the presidential term at seven years, renewable once..

Internal issues

• Bongo, the toppled president, had served two terms after coming to power in 2009 following the death of his father, who ruled the country for 41 years. There was widespread discontent with his family’s reign.
• Gabon, a former French colony, is a member of OPEC, but its oil wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few — and nearly 40% of Gabonese ranging in age from 15 to 24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank. Its oil export revenue was $6 billion in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.