Gabon's New PM Calls Two-Year Transition to Elections 'Reasonable'
11:23 11.09.2023 (Updated: 12:46 11.09.2023)
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Following the August 30 coup in Gabon, the new military leaders appointed Raymond Ndong Sima, an opponent of ousted President Ondimba, as an interim prime minister last Thursday. On Saturday, a new cabinet was announced by the country's transitional government.
A two-year transition before the free elections promised by Gabon's new military rulers is a "reasonable objective," the newly appointed prime minister of the country Raymond Ndong Sima told Agence France Presse.
"It's good to set off with a reasonable objective by saying: we have the desire to see the process come to an end in 24 months, so we can go back to elections," Ndong Sima said, adding that the period could end up being slightly longer or shorter.
According to the AFP, under the transitional charter, no member of the Gabonese temporary government will be able to run in the next presidential election. There does not, however, appear to be anything to prevent General Brice Oligui Nguema, who led the August coup d'etat, from taking part in that race.
The general has also promised a new constitution to be adopted by referendum, and a new electoral code.
"The principle announced" by the military, Ndong Sima stressed, "is that there is no longer either an opposition nor a majority, so we are taking people in all political families".
The prime minister added that those drawing up the new texts for the country "will discuss this aspect of things, that is to say the duration [of the transition] and who is really allowed to stand [for election] and not to stand,"
"It would not however be good for the military to stand, so they can be impartial and objective arbiters of the elections," he said.
The new government includes military figures and ex-ministers who served under ousted president Ali Bongo Ondimba, but none of the main opposition figures, the media revealed.
The presence of military officers in his cabinet has reportedly raised questions about how much freedom Ndong Sima will have as prime minister, as well as the real power of his government. Nguema has appointed senior officers to oversee many sectors that are also handled by members of Ndong Sima's new government, according to the outlet.
"It's not new to have, alongside the president, heads of departments who provide the interface between the president and the ministerial departments," Ndong Sima noted.
Commenting on how much of a free hand he will have as the transitional prime minister, Ndong Sime said he is not sure, however, he underscored that "the possibility of working to get results to those they have called in" would be in the interest of the military leaders.
"Will I have my hands free? That, I cannot know at the moment: we'll see. It will depend on what the military want to obtain. If they want to obtain a satisfactory result, it will be in their interest to give a free hand to those they have called in," the prime minister underlined – all the more so because the military will be left with the legacy of what the government does.
Last week, days before he was named as the nation's prime minister, Ndong Sima told the media that he was "interested" by the upcoming elections.
"The situation of the country requires everyone to make a small compromise on their own position," the prime minister highlighted.
Last Thursday, Ndong Sima was appointed as head of the transitional government by General Nguema, proclaimed president for the transitional period. The coup happened on August 30, moments after Bongo had been declared the winner of a presidential election which both the army and the opposition declared fraudulent.
Nguema immediately promised to return the country to civilian rule with elections after a transitional period, the length of which he did not immediately specify.
Ndong Sima, 68, is a French-educated economist who served as prime minister under Bongo from 2012 to 2014 before becoming a critic and competing against him in the 2016 and 2023 presidential campaigns, the media said.
On Saturday, the transitional government announced a new cabinet, making history by naming a woman as defense minister for the first time. General Brigitte Onganoa, a veteran officer who served under former President Ali Bongo Ondimba, will head the defense ministry, a key position for the country's security and stability.
