Elected in the first round with 94.85% of the vote in the April 12 presidential election, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguéma will be officially sworn in this Saturday, May 3, at the Agondjé stadium in Libreville. The inauguration ceremony will mark the formal end of the political transition initiated after the ousting of Ali Bongo in August 2023.
Several African heads of state are expected to attend the event, including Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Guinean leader General Mamadi Doumbouya. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, also confirmed his participation following talks with Gabon’s foreign minister in Abuja.
The African Union has officially lifted Gabon’s suspension from its institutions, citing the successful completion of the transition and the restoration of constitutional order. Oligui Nguéma, who had led the transitional government, secured a decisive victory against seven other candidates, including former Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie By Nze.
His swearing-in signals a new chapter in Gabon’s political landscape, eight months after the end of the Bongo era.