Days after the military in Gabon annoounced a coup, General Brice Oligui Nguema on Monday took oath as the President of Gabon and promised "free" elections.
Nguema did not give any timeline for the restoration of electoral democracy in Gabon, which became the eighth country in Western Africa to experience a coup since 2020. The coup in Gabon came within weeks of a coup in Niger.
The military announced the coup on August 30 when officers announced that they have taken over power and have put President Ali Bongo Ondimba in house arrest. The coup came as results of the presidential elections were to be declared with the officers declared null and void. They said they were forming the Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions.
The coup in Gabon brought to an end the ruling dynasty of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose family had ruled the country for 56 years.
After taking oath as the President of Gabon, General Nguema on Monday promised "free, transparent and credible elections" and said the promised elections would be the stepping stone to "handing power back to the civilians", according to Guardian.
Nguema further announced that the new rulers would draft a new constitution for the country and said the military had acted to save lives after "an electoral process that was obviously loaded".
"Without violence, clashes or loss of blood, the committee for transition and restoration of institutions changed the regime which for years had usurped the powers of the institutions of the public, flouting democratic rules," said Nguema, as per Guardian.
The coup in Gabon, the latest in the string of military takeovers in Western Africa, has been seen as another sign of democratic backsliding in the region. The region of Sahel in West Africa has been battered by an Islamist insurgency but Gabon is located to further south and has been relatively unaffected by the insurgency that has battered other countries in the region, like Burkina Faso or Niger.
Nguema is the head of the Republican Guard. The Associated Press reports that he is a cousin of the ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba, served as a bodyguard to his late father, and is head of the Republican Guard.
The speedy swearing-in of Nguema will create perceptions of legitimacy and consolidate his power to deter potential opponents from challenging his rule, said Maja Bovcon, senior analyst at risk assessment firm Verisk Maplecroft, to AP.
Bovcon told AP, "It is also likely intended as a means to restore investor confidence by conveying the message that he will not waste time in returning to business-as-usual and democratic rules.
