A “reasonable objective” is to hold free elections in Gabon within two years, as promised by the military that ousted President Ali Bongo, the transitional prime minister told AFP on Sunday.
Ali Bongo Ondimba, who had been in power for 14 years, was overthrown by the army on August 30 just seconds after he was declared the winner of an election that the military and the opposition both judged illegitimate.
When General Brice Oligui Nguema was elected President of the Transition, he immediately pledged to restore civilian rule through elections at the conclusion of an unspecified term.
Raymond Ndong Sima, a civilian appointed Prime Minister by the military last Thursday, said: “It’s a good idea to start with a reasonable objective and say: we hope to see the process completed in 24 months, so that we can return to elections”, adding that this period could be “slightly longer or shorter”.
General Oligui Nguema nominated Mr. Ndong Sima, 68, to lead the transitional administration. He had previously been a prominent opponent of Mr. Bongo.
On August 30, a coup d’état was carried out quickly and without incident.
The military putschists, who have the backing of both the opposition and the majority of the populace, assert that they took action to “preserve human lives” following a rigged election and to eliminate the “bad governance” and “corruption” of which they accuse the Bongo family.
On Saturday, Mr. Ndong Sima announced the make-up of his government, which General Oligui had appointed and which included former president Bongo’s ministers, members of the former opposition, and individuals from civil society who had previously opposed Mr. Bongo and his family, who had ruled the nation for more than 55 years.
The military-imposed transitional charter forbids members of the interim administration, including Mr. Ndong Sima, from running in the upcoming elections but does not specifically forbid General Oligui from seeking the presidency.
Additionally, General Oligui pledged to work with “all the living forces of the Nation” to create a new electoral code and a new constitution that would be approved by referendum.
“The principle announced by the military “is that there is no longer any opposition or majority, so we are taking people from all political families”, commented the Prime Minister.
“The people who are going to (…) prepare various texts, will discuss this aspect of things, i.e. the duration (of the transition), and who is really entitled to run and not to run,” explained Mr. Ndong Sima.
“It would not be a good idea for the military to run, for them to be impartial and objective arbiters of the election”, he felt, however.
The appointment of General Oligui Nguema to the transitional presidency and to the military committee that makes up his close team, which includes officers in charge of many of the same areas as Mr. Ndong Sima’s ministries, raises concerns about the independence and latitude of his civilian government.
“It’s nothing new to have heads of departments working alongside the President (of Gabon), acting as an interface between the President and the ministerial departments,” Mr. Ndong Sima said.
“Will my hands be free? That, I can’t say at the moment, we’ll see” and “it will depend on what the military want to achieve”, he felt, adding: “If they want to achieve a satisfactory result, it will be in their interest to leave their hands free to those they have called”.
