In a televised ceremony intended to present the military as the liberators of an oppressed country, the leader of the coup that toppled the president of Gabon Ali Bongo was sworn in as the interim leader and welcomed by euphoric supporters on Monday.
Numerous Gabonese expressed relief and joy as a new era began as they watched the military chief’s inauguration on Monday. The military chief overthrew the Bongo dynasty, which had ruled their oil-rich state for more than 50 years, last week. Five days after toppling President Ali Bongo, the son of Omar Bongo, who ruled with an iron grip for more than four decades, General Brice Oligui Nguema took the oath of office as president.
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Military officers and officials applauded Nguema while he was arriving for the ceremony and once more after he was sworn in by a group of constitutional court judges. To commemorate the occasion, state television broadcast pictures of a crowd cheering and armored personnel vehicles firing into the water.
In his speech, Nguema suggested several reforms such as a new constitution that would be decided by popular vote, new electoral and criminal laws, and policies that would give local banks and businesses priority for economic development. He added that political prisoners would be released as well as exiled political figures welcomed back.
Following elections in which Bongo was declared the winner, Oligui praised the coup as a valiant effort by the military to spare Gabon from violence. He also pledged to lead the nation to “free, transparent, and credible elections” but did not specify when this would happen.
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The Central African regional bloc, ECCAS, declared on Monday that it was suspending Gabon’s membership until constitutional order was restored, despite Nguema’s assurances of free and transparent elections.
