Military Chief of Gabon Is Sworn in Amid Calls for Restoration of the Constitutional Order

In the midst of international appeals for a return to constitutional order, the leader of the coup that toppled Gabonese President Ali Bongo took the oath of office on Monday. To assess the mood of the locals, VOA travelled to Bitam, a town in northern Gabon close to the Cameroonian border.

Numerous people in Bitam watch as General Brice Oligui Nguema takes office as interim president on Gabon’s national television.
In the north of Gabon, close to the Cameroonian border, is the commercial town of Bitam.

The military leader vowed to uphold what he called the charter of the transitional government during a ceremony that was attended by politicians, diplomats, clerics, the military, and a sizable number of citizens. He said nothing further.

Local official and supporter of the opposition Pierre Marie Tsanga was one of the bystanders who attended the ceremony in Bitam. Tsanga stated he was not surprised Albert Ondo Ossa, the other presidential candidate, did not show up for the inaugural ceremony.

He claims that the military in Gabon shouldn’t assume that the country’s residents’ enthusiasm for the newly installed president, General Brice Oligui Nguema, is the reason of the ongoing commotion. He claims that because Ali Bongo’s family’s nearly 60-year hold on power has ended, the general populace is relieved.Ondo, who is 69 years old, also skipped a Friday meeting between the heads of the opposition parties and the interim president.

‘Return of Constitutional Order’ is Demanded by a Regional Bloc in Gabon
In the absence of other opposition members and the general’s close aides, Ondo stated that he wanted to talk to the general about the future of Gabon.

By ensuring that the results of the elections on August 26 are processed, made public, and the victor inaugurated as president in the shortest amount of time feasible, according to Tsanga, the new leader will honour himself and Gabon’s people. Tsanga suggested a maximum of six months for this.

The 69-year-old Ondo, a former government minister and university professor, is claimed to be the legitimate victor of the August 26 election by Gabon’s major opposition party, Alternance 2023.

Alternance 2023 pleaded with the world on Friday to ask the junta to give Ondo the reins of power.

Last Monday, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the African Union called for a swift restoration of constitutional order.

Following the coup, which the United Nations and France have denounced, Gabon was expelled from the African Union. If the coup leaders do not reinstate constitutional order, the AU threatened to put additional penalties on them.

Mba Dominique studies international relations at Omar Bongo University in Gabon’s capital, Libreville.

Calls for Gabon’s military commanders to turn themselves in to civilian authorities from the AU, ECCAS, and Gabon’s neighbours Cameroon, Chad, and Equatorial Guinea, according to Dominique, are like cries in the desert. Similar appeals for the military juntas in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea to step down or face consequences, according to him, have been ineffective.

Ali Bongo, who assumed control in 2009 after his father Omar, who had ruled the nation of central Africa since 1967, passed away, is succeeded by the interim leader. Omar had been in that position since 1967.

The family allegedly dominated Gabon with an iron fist and seized the majority of its wealth, according to the opposition.

The general promised to be open in his leadership and give an account of his stewardship on Monday.