Brice Oligui Nguema, a Gabonese general who last week spearheaded a coup that ended the Bongo dynasty’s 55-year reign, was inaugurated as interim president on Monday, according to AFP journalists.
President Ali Bongo Ondimba, a member of a dynasty that has ruled since 1967, was overthrown on Wednesday by officers under the command of Oligui, the head of the elite Republican Guard.
Moments after Bongo, 64, was declared the winner of last month’s presidential election, which the opposition dubbed a fraud, he was ousted.
“I swear before God and the Gabonese people to faithfully preserve the republican regime,” said Oligui.
Dressed in the red ceremonial costume of the Republican Guard, Oligui also swore to “preserve the achievements of democracy”, at the ceremony held before judges of the Constitutional Court.
He immediately pledged in a speech to hold “free… (and) transparent elections” after a transition period which he did not specify, and to amnesty “prisoners of conscience.”
A fringe of the former opposition is urging Oligui to hand over power, but many people in Gabon seem happy about the overthrow of the Bongo dynasty, with celebrations in the streets of the capital Libreville and the economic hub of Port-Gentil.
Several Western countries and organisations have condemned the coup while acknowledging that it is different to others on the continent due to concerns over the credibility of the vote itself.