The first voters began casting their ballots in Gabon’s presidential election on Saturday, just 19 months after the coup that ended the Bongo dynasty.
Queues formed early at the Pilote School polling station, where the transition president, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, was expected to vote. He led the August 2023 coup and is considered the frontrunner.
There were fewer voters at Leon Mba High School, the capital’s largest polling centre, where election materials were set up before dawn.
Approximately 920,000 voters are expected to cast their votes at 3,037 polling stations until 6 p.m. local time. Initially scheduled for August, the election was brought forward with a shortened 13-day campaign.
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Nearly 2,500 observers from around 50 missions were accredited by the authorities, who have promised a “free and transparent” election. Results could be announced as early as Monday, according to sources from the Interior Ministry.
Dominant on campaign posters in the media and on social networks, the “president candidate” has overshadowed his seven rivals, including Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze, the last Prime Minister under Ali Bongo.
The election is expected to restore constitutional order in this oil-rich yet economically drained country, after decades of mismanagement and corruption under the Bongo regime.
Challenges such as unemployment, power outages, water shortages, degraded roads, insufficient public transport, lack of schools, and failing hospitals remain vast. The 2.3 million citizens have high expectations.
