Latest news with #BriceClotaireOliguiNguema
Free Malaysia Today
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Gabon's ousted leader and family released from detention
Ali Bongo Ondimba had been under house arrest in the capital Libreville since 2023. (EPA Images pic) LUANDA : Gabon's former leader Ali Bongo Ondimba, who was detained after being ousted in a 2023 coup, has been released and has arrived in Luanda with his family, Angola's presidency said today. Bongo, whose family ruled Gabon for 55 years, had been under house arrest in the capital Libreville since being overthrown in August 2023. His wife and son had also been in detention, accused of embezzling public funds. A statement on the Angolan presidency's Facebook page announcing the arrival of the Bongo family in Luanda was accompanied by photographs showing the former leader being welcomed at an airport. The 'Bongo family has been released and has just arrived in Luanda', it said. The release of the family followed talks between Angola President Joao Lourenco and Gabon's new leader, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, the statement said, without giving details. Oligui, a former junta leader, seized power in the oil-rich country in the August 2023 coup that ended the 55-year rule of the Bongo dynasty. The general was sworn in earlier this month after winning 94.85% in an April 12 vote in which international observers signalled no major irregularities. Oligui's main rival, Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze, who was the last prime minister under Bongo, said the family's release demonstrated that their detention 'did not respect the framework of law and justice'. 'President Oligui Nguema did not show clemency: he had to bow to international demands after what everyone understood to be an abuse of power,' he said. Lawyers for Bongo's French-born wife Sylvia, 62, and son Noureddin, 33, alleged they suffered torture while in detention. Several Gabonese media reported recently that they had been moved from cells in an annex of the presidency to a family residence in Libreville. Member of the transitional parliament, Geoffroy Foumboula Libeka, said the move of the family 'in the middle of the night and in total silence' was 'a real disgrace for the first days' of the new government. 'Where is Gabon's sovereignty?' he asked on social media, charging the Bongo family's release was 'the price to pay' for Gabon's reintegration into the African Union, which is currently headed by Lourenco. The African Union announced on April 30 that it had lifted sanctions against Gabon, which was suspended from the organisation following the coup. The country of 2.3 million people has endured high unemployment, regular power and water shortages, and heavy government debt despite its oil wealth. The Gabon presidency announced on social media on May 12 that Lourenco had met Oligui in Libreville for talks focused 'on strengthening bilateral cooperation, the smooth running of democratic elections marking the end of the transition in Gabon'. They also discussed the lifting of sanctions following Gabon's reintegration into the AU. The 66-year-old Bongo, who is suspected to be in poor health, came to power in 2009, taking over from his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who ruled for 41 years. In 2016, he was narrowly re-elected for a second term by a few thousand votes, beating opposition challenger Jean Ping after a campaign marred by bloody clashes and allegations of fraud. He suffered a stroke in October 2018 while on a visit to Saudi Arabia and there was speculation about his health and fitness to govern when he returned home. His public appearances were rare, and the times when he spoke live outside the confines of the presidential palace were rarer still. Bongo ruled for 14 years until he was overthrown moments after being proclaimed the winner in a presidential election the army and opposition declared fraudulent.
eNCA
06-05-2025
- Business
- eNCA
Gabon's new president faces tough economic challenges
LIBREVILLE - Big challenges await Gabon's new president Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema as he takes the reins of a country rich in oil but struggling with debt. The general was sworn in on Saturday after winning 94.85 percent in the April 12 vote in which international observers signalled no major irregularities. His victory followed a 19-month transition after he took power in a coup in August 2023 that ended the 55-year rule of the Bongo dynasty. Following his inauguration in front of around 40,000 people at a stadium near the capital Libreville, Oligui enjoys strong popularity as he begins his term but faces high expectations of economic and social reform. The new 50-year-old president said he measured "with gravity, the immensity of the burden that falls upon him". He campaigned on six "pillars": reform of the water and electricity sector, youth employment through business promotion, housing and transport, social justice and human capital, sustainable development and governance reform. Among the pressing issues is the electrical grid, managed by the public company SEEG, which suffers regular failures due to a lack of investment. Gabon suffers a glaring lack of infrastructure: it has a "highway directorate" but no highways. Despite successive building plans, only 2,000 of its 10,000 kilometres of roads are usable, according to official data. The new head of state has cast himself as a "builder", proudly launching or relaunching numerous construction projects, particularly in Libreville. Campaign posters pictured him wearing a builder's hard hat and public television regularly broadcasts images of buildings under construction. Among the major projects promised during the campaign was a new north-south railway line linking the deep-water port of Mayumba and the Booue hydroelectric dam. Faced with the depletion of its oil resources, Gabon needs to diversify its economy. "There is still dependence on oil," said Francois Gaulme, an associate researcher at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI). "The economy needs to be diversified, and this has never been done on a large scale." Although oil extraction, the bedrock of the economy, has generated billions of annual profits since the first drilling in the 1950s, Gabon's debt has swelled. From 72 percent of GDP in 2023, it rose to 73 percent in 2024 and is projected to hit 80 percent this year. Oligui pledged in his speech to work with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank "to better repay our external debt".
The Star
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The Star
African Union resumes Gabon's membership
ADDIS ABABA/LIBREVILLE, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) on Wednesday announced the reinstatement of Gabon to the union's family. Gabon's reinstatement came after the council in its 1,277th meeting reviewed the country's political transition and processes, which were found to be "generally successful," PSC Chairperson Rebecca Amuge Otengo said in a briefing. Otengo said as a result, the AU has lifted all sanctions and welcomed Gabon back to its full participation in the union's activities. Gabon was suspended from the AU following the unconstitutional change of government on Aug. 30, 2023. "It is with great honor and pride that I announce to the Gabonese people, on behalf of Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, President of the Republic, Head of State, Gabon's return to the great African family," declared Gabonese Foreign Minister Regis Onanga Ndiaye from the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The removal of these sanctions allows Gabon to reclaim its position within the African community and extend its participation internationally, the minister emphasized. Gabon can now actively engage in major international meetings organized by the AU and its partners. Following the coup on Aug. 30, 2023, which brought General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema to power, Gabon faced several sanctions, including those imposed by the AU. The country has since returned to constitutional order after a recent presidential election, in which transitional leader Nguema secured a landslide victory with 94.85 percent of the vote. The official inauguration of the president-elect is scheduled for May 3 in Libreville, the capital of the Central African country.
Arab News
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Gabon's constitutional court confirms Nguema's victory
DAKAR: Gabon's constitutional court has confirmed that Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, Gabon's interim president who staged a 2023 coup, won the Central African nation's April 12 presidential election. According to the final results announced by the Constitutional Court, Oligui Nguema won the election with 58,074 votes, which accounts for 94.85 percent. Oligui Nguema's tally increased by almost 5 percent compared to the provisional results announced the day after the April 12 vote by the Ministry of the Interior. He defeated seven other candidates, including the immediate past Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze, who came in a distant second with 3 percent of votes cast. None of the other six candidates crossed the 1 percent mark. Bilie-By-Nze recently said that Oligui Nguema took advantage of state resources to support his campaign. The government denies this. Local observers deemed the conduct of the election satisfactory in nearly all the polling stations monitored. The Constitutional Court announced a turnout of 70 percent in the election in which some 920,000 voters, including over 28,000 overseas, were registered to participate across more than 3,000 polling stations. The Interior Ministry had previously announced a higher turnout of 87.21 percent in its provisional results announced the day after the vote. Gabon's first election since the 2023 military coup ended a political dynasty that lasted over 50 years. It was seen as a crucial election for the central African nation's 2.3 million people, a third of whom live in poverty despite its vast oil wealth. Oligui Nguema, the former head of the country's Republican Guard, toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba nearly two years ago. He hopes to consolidate his grip on power for a seven-year term in office and is set to be inaugurated on May 3.
25-04-2025
- Politics
Gabon's constitutional court confirms Oligui Nguema's victory in presidential election
DAKAR, Senegal -- Gabon's constitutional court confirmed Friday that Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, Gabon's interim president who staged a 2023 coup, won the Central African nation's April 12 presidential election. Oligui Nguema won the election with 58,074 votes, which accounts for 94.85% of votes cast, according to the final results announced by the Constitutional Court. Oligui Nguema's tally increased by almost 5% compared to the provisional results announced the day after the April 12 vote by the Ministry of the Interior. He defeated seven other candidates, including immediate past Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze, who came in a distant second with 3% of votes cast. None of the other six candidates crossed the 1% mark. Bilie-By-Nze recently told The Associated Press that Oligui Nguema took advantage of state resources to support his campaign. The government denies this. Local observers deemed the conduct of the election satisfactory in nearly all the polling stations monitored. The Constitutional Court announced a turnout of 70,11 % in the election in which some 920,000 voters, including over 28,000 overseas, were registered to participate across more than 3,000 polling stations. The Interior Ministry had previously announced a higher turnout of 87.21% in its provisional results announced the day after the vote. It was Gabon's first election since the 2023 military coup that ended a political dynasty that lasted over 50 years. It was seen as a crucial election for the central African nation's 2.3 million people, a third of whom live in poverty despite its vast oil wealth. Oligui Nguema, the former head of the country's Republican Guard, toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba nearly two years ago. He hopes to consolidate his grip on power for a seven-year term in office and is set to be inaugurated on May 3.
