General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who seized power in a coup two years ago, has been handed a seven-year mandate after winning over 90% of the vote in Gabon’s first post-coup election.
Oligui Nguema’s rise to power was unexpected, having spent 10 years outside the country after being dismissed from the inner circle of the Bongo family, who ruled Gabon for almost 56 years.
However, he gained popularity after nationalizing some foreign-owned oil assets, broadening political representation, boosting infrastructure, and paying workers’ outstanding pension arrears.
The 50-year-old leader has maintained close relations with France, Gabon’s former colonial power, setting his country apart from other West and Central African nations that have experienced coups since 2020.
With his new mandate, Oligui Nguema is set to lead Gabon, a nation of over two million people, for the next seven years.
