The general who came to power in Gabon’s coup last week is to be sworn in as “transitional president” today, taking control for an unspecified period after overthrowing the country’s 55-year Bongo dynasty.
General Brice Oligui Nguema, the head of the elite Republican Guard, led officers in a military coup on Wednesday last week against President Ali Bongo Ondimba, scion of a family that had ruled for more than five decades.
The ousting came just moments after Bongo, 64, was proclaimed victor in last month’s presidential election — a result branded a fraud by the opposition.
The coup leaders said they had dissolved the nation’s institutions, cancelled the election results, and closed the borders, later adding they had decided to reopen them.
He has repeated his promise to organise “free, transparent, credible and peaceful elections”, without specifying when they would take place but saying that a new constitution must first be adopted by referendum.
On Friday, he vowed to create more democratic institutions that respect human rights, but said he would proceed “without haste”.
