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Gabon election: Vote counting in first post-coup poll reaching conclusion Gabon election: Coup leader Oligui Nguema wins poll by huge margin
(31 minutes later)
Turnout was high at some polling stations in the capital, Libreville Gen Brice Oligui Nguema has been handed a seven-year mandate by an electorate relieved that the Bongo era is now past
The authorities in Gabon have said that provisional results from Saturday's presidential election - the first since the 2023 coup that ousted Ali Bongo from power - will be known later on Sunday. Gabon's military leader Gen Brice Oligui Nguema - who in 2023 led a coup that ended a 60-year dynasty - has won Saturday's presidential election with more than 90% of the vote, provisional results show.
The coup mastermind Gen Brice Oligui Nguema changed the constitution to allow him to run for the presidency. Ahead of the vote, critics argued that the new constitution and electoral code were designed to give Nguema a comfortable pathway to the top job.
Ahead of the election, critics argued the constitution and electoral code were designed to give the military man a comfortable pathway to the top job. Some opposition heavyweights who could have posed a serious political challenge were excluded from the race.
The August 2023 coup brought an end to the rule by the Bongo dynasty, which had been in power for more than five decades. His election victory consolidates his grip on power, nearly two years after he masterminded the demise of President Ali Bongo, whose family had been in power in Gabon since 1967.
Some opposition heavyweights who could have seriously challenged Oligui Nguema at the polls were excluded from the race. Nguema, 50, faced seven other candidates, including former Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-by-Nze, who served under the Bongo regime, and two stalwarts of the former ruling PDG party, Stéphane Germain Iloko and Alain Simplice Boungouères.
Eight hopefuls are in the running to become president, with only one woman in the race - Gninga Chaning Zenaba.
Other presidential challengers include former Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-by-Nze, who served under the Bongo regime, as well as two stalwarts of the former ruling PDG party, Stéphane Germain Iloko and Alain Simplice Boungouères.
Whoever wins the election will have the burden of ridding the country of corruption, bad governance, and other ills which characterised the Bongos' time in power.
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Turn out on Saturday in some polling stations in the capital, Libreville, seemed high with long queues of voters eager to cast their ballots. "Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema is elected [president] by absolute majority of votes cast, with 575,222 votes," Interior Minister Hermann Immongault announced.
The election was largely peaceful, with some observers and candidates praising the conduct of the polls. His main challenger, Bilie-by-Nze, received just over 3% of the votes.
Earlier in the day, Oligui Nguema said the elections, which he described as transparent, would usher the country and its people into a new republic. More than seven out of 10 registered voters took part in the poll, which the authorities and some observers hailed as signifying the election took place transparently and peacefully.
However, Bilie-by-Nze alleged that there were some problems at polling stations which could potentially lead to fraud. Some voters, as well as Bilie-by-Nze, complained of instances of irregularities in the handling of the vote, however.
The small oil- and timber-rich central African nation is home to just 2.5 million people. Despite its resources, about 35% of the population still live below the poverty line of $2 (£1.50) a day. Nguema's victory brings him a seven-year mandate and the resources to tackle the corruption and bad governance that characterised the Bongos' time in power.
The highly articulate former commander of the elite Republican Guard proved to be very popular among a population relieved to be rid of dynastic rule, promising to rid the country of the ill that had tainted Gabon's image.
The small oil- and timber-rich central African nation is home to just 2.5 million people.
Despite its resources, about 35% of the population still live below the poverty line of $2 (£1.50) a day.
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Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
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