John AdoyiGeneral Brice Oligui Nguema, Gabon’s transitional military ruler who seized power from his cousin, former President Ali Bongo, in a 2023 coup, has officially declared his candidacy for the country’s upcoming presidential election on April 12, 2025.
Nguema, who initially pledged to oversee a democratic transition, announced his decision to run as an independent candidate after Gabon’s interim parliament approved a new electoral code in January, allowing him to contest the presidency. The electoral code, adopted on January 20, 2025, set the legal framework for the long-awaited election.
Join our WhatsApp Channel“After careful consideration and in response to your numerous appeals, I have decided to stand as a candidate in the presidential election,” Nguema told supporters in the capital, Libreville, on Monday.
To qualify for the race, Nguema resigned from his military position on Saturday, officially transitioning to civilian leadership. He will compete against three other candidates: former Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie By Nze, lawyer and tax inspector Joseph Lapensee Essingone, and Dr. Stephane Germain Iloko Boussengui, a former spokesperson for the ousted ruling Gabonese Democratic Party.
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Despite not forming a political party, Nguema has launched a platform called The Builders Movement to rally support. “Within this platform, I invite associations, political parties, unions, youth, intellectual elites, and all those who have supported me since the beginning of the transition to join us so that together, we can build this country and move forward,” he stated. According to him, time constraints played a huge role in his failure to form a political party.
Campaigning for the election is set to begin on March 29, with the polls marking the end of Gabon’s two-year military rule following the coup that toppled the 55-year rule of the Bongo dynasty. The winner of the April 12 election will serve a seven-year term.
