Gabon Approves Coup Leader, Ex-pm Among Presidential Candidates

Gabons Constitutional Court has approved a list of eight candidates to run in the Central African nations presidential election next month, including interim President Brice Oligui Nguema, who seized power in a military coup in 2023.

Although transitional leaders are not usually allowed to run for election, Gabon approved a new constitution by a landslide in November that exempted Nguema, stoking opposition and analyst concerns that the junta would seek to remain in power.

The junta promised the constitutional referendum would be a stepping stone to democratic rule.

Nguema, 50, ended the long-standing rule of his predecessor Ali Bongo and his family over the oil-rich but impoverished nation in the coup, the eighth in West and Central Africa between 2020 and 2023.

Nguemas main rival is tipped to be Bongos last prime minister Alain Claude Billie By Nze, 57, who is running as an independent candidate.