Gabon coup plotters promise to reestablish democratic governance by 2025

The military commanders of Gabon, who overthrew President Ali Bongo Ondimba in the month of August 2023, declared on Monday that the country will have elections in August 2025, with a timeline that includes a national conversation first.

A regime spokesperson stated on live state TV, "August 2025: elections and end of the transition," alluding to a formal yet "indicative" transition timeline that the cabinet had approved but would be presented to a national conference the next year, as seen in the France news publication, France 24.

The group further stated that a referendum on the proposed constitution will occur in November or December 2024, after it has been presented at the end of October 2024.

In August, the army and the opposition both deemed the presidential election to be rigged, and hours after, military authorities toppled 64-year-old Ali Bongo, the country's first president since 2009.

A two-year transition before the democratic elections promised by the nation's new military authorities, according to Gabon's new prime minister Raymond Ndong Sima, is a "reasonable objective."

The coup d'etat leader against Ali Bongo Ondimba, General Brice Oligui Nguema, named Ndong Sima to lead the transitional administration.

Following the coup, the country in Central Africa saw a number of interactional backlashes, one of which was the African Union's decision to suspend the country's membership.

Amidst a surge of international backlashes, this is the first regional response.