Gabon’s voters partake in second stage of legislative elections
(MENAFN) Gabonese citizens returned to the polls Sunday for the second round of the country’s legislative elections, marking another step in the nation’s political transition following last year’s military coup that ended the rule of former President Ali Bongo.
The 10-day campaign period for the runoff began on Oct. 1 and concluded on Friday, setting the stage for a competitive vote in 77 constituencies where no candidate secured an outright majority in the first round.
Roughly 900,000 registered voters participated in the initial round of the elections held on Sept. 27 — the first since the 2023 coup that brought President Brice Oligui Nguema to power. Provisional results from the Interior Ministry showed Nguema’s Democratic Union of Builders (UDB) party leading the race, having won 55 of 145 seats in the National Assembly.
The second round is expected to be a direct contest between the ruling UDB and the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), the political faction of former President Bongo, which managed to secure just three seats in the first round. Both parties spent the final days of campaigning focusing on persuading undecided voters and reinforcing their regional support bases.
President Nguema praised the first-round results, calling them “satisfactory,” but urged all participants to “double their efforts to guarantee the integrity and transparency of the next round.” He also emphasized the importance of maintaining a peaceful atmosphere during the vote, warning against political tensions that could undermine the process.
Interior Minister Hermann Immongault, who also chairs the National Commission for the Organization of Elections, described the first round as generally fair, though he acknowledged that “irregularities were observed at some polling stations.”
Nguema, who officially won April’s presidential election, is seeking to strengthen his party’s control of parliament as Gabon moves toward consolidating post-coup governance and restoring civilian-led democratic institutions.
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