Gabon’s first election after collapse of Bongo dynasty: What’s at stake?

The small African nation of Gabon is voting on Saturday in its first executive elections since a military coup in 2023 ended the 50-year dynastic rule of the Bongo political family.

Brice Clotaite Oligui Nguema, coup leader-turned-transition president, is the main candidate among four competitors and is widely expected to win the elections, despite controversial reforms he has put into place that experts say were tailored to make him eligible for the vote.

Located in West-central Africa, on the Atlantic coast, Gabon is rich in extractives like crude oil. The country, with a population of 2.2 million, is also part of the vital Congo Basin and boasts millions of acres of rainforest replete with varieties of plant and animal species.

However, those natural resources have not translated into any meaningful distribution of wealth, as one family and a small political elite have ruled the country for the past five decades. The opposition is weak, experts say; the press is largely toothless; and Gabonese are distrustful of politicians.

Located right on the equator, Gabon’s lingua franca is French, and local languages include Fang, Mbere and several others. Libreville, the breezy coastal capital, is the largest city, followed by the port town of Port-Gentil.

Here’s what to know about the vote:

When is the vote — and how did Gabon get here?

The presidential vote will be held in the country’s nine provinces on Saturday, April 12, from 7:30am to 6pm local time (06:30-17:00 GMT).
Campaigns began on March 29 and will end on April 11. Voting is mandatory for adults.
The election is being held several months before an August 2025 deadline the military initially announced after the August 30, 2023, coup that ended the rule of former President Ali Bongo Ondimba (2009 – 2023).
The coup, part of a wave of military takeovers on the continent, occurred on the same day the results of presidential elections were released. Ondimba was declared the winner with 60 percent of the vote for a third term. The opposition, led by Albert Ondo Ossa of the Alternate Party, disputed the elections.
Ondimba took over after the death of President Omar Bongo, his father (1967-2009). Between them, the father-son duo ruled Gabon for 56 years.
Legislative elections have not been announced. Currently, the bicameral houses are staffed with representatives appointed by the military government.

Who is running?

Four candidates, all male, have been approved by the electoral college.

All are running independently. That’s because the candidates want to distance themselves from the former governing Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), Douglas Yates, a professor at the American Graduate School in Paris, told Al Jazeera. The PDG has been in power since 1967 with little opposition and represents the only truly established party.

Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema (50): As head of the Royal Guard, Nguema led the coup that overthrew former President Ali Bongo, who is also his cousin, on August 30, 2023.

The military general previously served as aide-de-camp to Omar Bongo before he was posted overseas to the embassies in Morocco and Senegal. He thereafter returned to lead the elite Royal Guard that protects the president, a post he kept until seizing power.

Following the coup, Nguema promised to hand over to a civilian government within two years. He has been praised for moving rapidly towards that transition as opposed to military government counterparts in the West African countries of Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Guinea. He’s also managed to maintain ties with Gabon’s former colonial leader, France, while the others have actively cut ties with France.

A new constitution affirming strict two-term limits was passed following a November referendum.

Nguema is promising to “lift” and transform Gabon economically. He has cleaned up his military image since the coup, sporting suave suits and T-shirts in his packed, colourful campaign rallies. In one, he was seen moonwalking on stage to loud applause from his supporters.

Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze (57): In a country where the opposition has historically been weak due to decades of elections widely viewed as rigged, Bilie-By-Nze poses the biggest challenge to Nguema.

The career politician, unlike many of his more elite counterparts, comes from a low-income background. In 2015, he entered politics and went on to serve in several ministerial positions under Ali Bongo. He was prime minister until the 2023 coup.

Backed by his Together for Gabon political group, Bilie-By-Nze has chosen a low-key door-to-door campaign in the lead-up to the election. He has tried to underplay his role in the previous government – even criticising the former ruling PDG party, which he was a part of until 2023. His promises of “another Gabon” include a focus on urban renewal, better health insurance and overall economic growth.

However, experts say it is tough for many voters to trust him.

“Despite his efforts to distance himself from his past, everybody knows that he was the last prime minister of Ali Bongo, and therefore is tarnished,” Yates said.

Stephane Germain Iloko Boussengui: The medical doctor, popularly known as Iloko, was once a spokesperson for the former ruling PDG party before its downfall in the coup. He formed the Together for Gabon group with By-Nze, but the two men clashed, leading to Iloko’s exit in March.

His rallies are colourful: In one campaign event in Libreville, Iloko wore traditional wrappers and danced with his supporters, who sported T-shirts with his photos on them.

Despite his political past, Iloko claimed to be a “candidate for the people oppressed for 56 years” in an interview with local publication L’Union.

He claimed he tried to right things in the past government but was often shut down. Now, he is promising to provide jobs and build roads and schools, particularly in rural areas. He also wants to reduce government spending and increase teachers’ welfare. As a staunch critic of the military government, Iloko has called for the establishment of an independent electoral commission, saying the new constitution established in November grants the president too much power.

Joseph Lapensee Essingone (53): A technocrat, Essingone is a director at the country’s Directorate of Taxes. Educated in Gabon and France, he has presented himself as a new face in politics with no ties to the tainted past administrations.

Essingone says he wants to “rupture” the current political system and usher in economic reforms. He has promised an end to the mismanagement of resources and bad governance if elected.

A continuation of the Bongo regime?

Nguema is poised to win the elections, analysts agree.

His supporters have praised him for taking steps towards civilian rule, including:

Last April, he called for a one-month “Inclusive National Dialogue” that included civil society and diaspora members as one of the steps to return to civilian rule.
He has overseen the writing of a new constitution that affirms strict two-term limits. Before the elections, Nguema has also touted infrastructure projects he has embarked on since becoming the leader: The construction of more than 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) of new roads and the distribution of more than 400 taxi cars to people to generate employment.

However, his critics are quick to point out that Nguema remains part of the same establishment that has ruled Gabon for decades and reportedly also reaped wealth from those ties.

They argue that the National Dialogue largely included military delegates.
His transitional cabinet has also included some Bongo-era officials, critics further point out, and Ali Bongo’s PDG has endorsed his candidature.
While Gabonese rules do not allow transitional presidents to run for office, the new constitution passed in November allowed that. Critics say it was designed for Nguema to run, although it barred some established opposition leaders due to age requirements.
The constitution also transferred the coordination of elections to the Ministry of Interior instead of an independent commission.

“As we’ve seen with other military seizures of power in Africa in recent years, these transitions are accompanied by declining levels of civil liberties, political participation and transparency,” analyst Hany Wahila of the United States-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies told Al Jazeera.

“Those who’ve criticised the military regime in Gabon have been the target of intimidation. What we’re seeing, therefore, resembles more a continuation of the existing unequal process rather than progress,” she added.

Still, the fact that Nguema has moved forward on his election promises and kickstarted infrastructure development is progress, Yates of the American Graduate School in Paris said. The alternative, Yates said, would have kept Gabon stuck.

“His most evident quality is that, unlike the young man who was being groomed to inherit the Bongo dynastic fortune, Oligui Nguema actually lives in Gabon,” Yates said.

He was referring to Ali Bongo’s London-based first son, 33-year-old Noureddin Bongo, who is currently under house arrest in Gabon on charges of treason and fraud, along with his mother and French national, Sylvia Bongo. Nguema’s new constitution has barred people of dual nationality from running for the presidency, a move many believe is aimed at the Bongo heir. Ali Bongo himself was released from detention shortly after the coup and remains in the capital.

Gabon’s democracy may yet be young, but it is on its way, Yates added.

“As far as being a ‘true democracy’, I prefer to measure that concept on an ordinal scale from ‘more’ to ‘less’ democracy. Here, the measurement has improved,” he said.

What else?

Results will be announced within two weeks of the vote.
Analysts say the likelihood of a “free and fair” election in Gabon is dim due to its history of vote rigging.
There are also concerns about violence. In 2016, opposition protests broke out after Ali Bongo was announced the winner.