Gabon Sets Election Date: The End of Military Rule?

24th January 2025

1 minute read

Gabon Sets Election Date: The End of Military Rule?

On a challenging path, Gabon is moving towards a return to constitutional order with the announcement of the presidential election date.

The Gabonese Council of Ministers announced that the presidential election will take place on April 12, 2025, marking a step towards ending the military rule that began with the coup on August 30, 2023.

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting, released late Wednesday evening, confirmed the date of the presidential election.

According to the minutes: “By this decree, the electoral body will convene on Saturday, April 12, 2025.”

On August 30, 2023, less than an hour after President Ali Bongo Ondimba was declared re-elected in a disputed election, the military intervened to change the course of events.

The coup leaders claimed that the election results were fraudulent and accused Bongo‘s regime of exercising “irresponsible governance.” They ended his rule, placed him under house arrest, and announced the arrest of several ministers, officials, and regime figures, accusing them of corruption and high treason.

This marked the end of the Bongo dynasty’s rule over Gabon, which began in 2009 with Ali Bongo succeeding his father, Omar Bongo, who had been president since 1967.

The coup was not unexpected, except for its timing, as most internal indicators in the country pointed to the declining legitimacy of the ousted president, and it was clear that public discontent would eventually erupt.

Gabon’s interim president, Brice Oligui Nguema, took power in a coup that ended the Bongo family’s long-standing rule over the impoverished nation despite its oil wealth.

Last November, voters approved a new Constitution in a referendum organized by Gabon, fulfilling a promise by the coup leaders to take steps toward restoring constitutional governance.