Gabon’s military leader wins presidential election by landslide

Gabon’s military leader Brice Oligui Nguema has won the country’s presidential election by an apparent landslide, according to provisional results.

The Interior Ministry said on Sunday, April 13, that Nguema, who led a 2023 military coup, had secured about 90 percent of the vote.

His main rival, Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze, had won about three percent of Saturday’s vote, according to the initial results.

Nguema, who had been instrumental in ending 55 years of dynastic rule of the Bongo family, was widely expected to win the eight-candidate race.

On election day, Bilie-By-Nze had warned about “potential” problems during the counting, but Nguema said the electoral process was “transparent”.

Following his victory, Nguema spoke exclusively to Al Jazeera in his first international news interview, promising to “restore dignity to the Gabonese people”.

“I will give back to the people what they have given me today. And everything that has been stolen from the people, I want to return to them,” Nguema told Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem.