In Gabon, the electoral campaign is in full swing ahead of the presidential election on 12 April, with eight candidates in the running. Who are these seven men and one woman?
Gabon will elect a new president on Saturday, after 19 months of interim rule by military leaders who seized power in a coup.
Gabon is one of the richest countries in Africa in terms of per-capita GDP, thanks to oil, wood and manganese (used in steelmaking and batteries) and its small population of just 2.3 million.
But as global crude prices have fallen, the contribution of Gabonese oil production to GDP has fallen and the central African country's debt rose to 73.3 percent of GDP last year. It's projected to reach 80 percent this year.
In 50 years, the average income per capita has halved and more than a third of the population lives on less than $2.15 a day, according to the World Bank.
Voters will expect their future president to fix the outdated electric grid and road network as well as creating jobs and diversifying the country's petrol-dependent economy.
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Brice Oligui Nguema
The current President of the Transition, who overthrew Ali Bongo on 30 August, 2023, ending five decades of Bongo dynastic rule, is the favourite to win. The 50-year-old career soldier has indeed predicted a "historic victory" for himself.
According to political analyst Lysiane Neyer Kenga, he has run "an American-style campaign on big bucks" – complete with billboards, branded baseball caps, massive rallies and even viral dances on social media – a strategy that she says "tends towards a cult of personality".
Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze
The last prime minister under the ousted President Bongo (for a period of just seven months), despite this he is presenting himself as the candidate of a "clean break", distancing himself from the Bongo family and publicly acknowledging the failures of the administration.
Considered Brice Oligui Nguema's most credible challenger, he has called himself "the only alternative left to the people of Gabon in the face of the military". With his campaign, he has gone back to basics, knocking on doors in deprived areas.
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Zenaba Gninga Chaning
The first to make her candidacy official on 7 February, this 36-year-old entrepreneur is the only female candidate in the running, and the youngest of the eight.
She has founded several businesses in Libreville – in sectors including real estate, beauty and events – and aims to boost the entrepreneurial spirit in her country.
Axel Stophène Ibinga Ibinga
Another entrepreneur, 44-year-old Axel Stophène Ibinga Ibinga heads up investment firm Ax Capital Investment Gabon.
He was a candidate in the cancelled 2023 elections and has said that Gabon has made no progress since the coup d'état. He has pledged to foster an entrepreneurial spirit, focusing on job creation and developing the economy in his campaign.
Stéphane Iloko Boussengui
This 63-year-old doctor was a spokesman for the former ruling Gabonese Democratic Party, which he left after the coup of 30 August, 2023, co-founding the Together for Gabon party with fellow candidate Alain-Claude Billie-By-Nze.
His choice to stand alone has led to accusations of collusion with the government. If elected, he has promised to "throw out" the Constitution resulting from the transition.
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Thierry Yvon Michel Ngoma
Entrepreneur Thierry Yvon Michel Ngoma, 46, is trying his luck again after an initial bid in the cancelled 2023 election.
He has chosen to campaign on a resolutely sovereignist credo, advocating in particular for Gabon's exit from the CFA franc currency. He has also pledged to make basic services including hospital treatment, water and electricity free to all.
Alain Simplice Boungoueres
A senior civil servant, he is proposing the creation of a Sovereign National Pardon Fund endowed with 40 billion CFA francs.
A civil engineer and transport economist by training, the 57-year-old is a former member of Bongo's Gabonese Democratic Party, which he left ahead of the 2023 elections.
Joseph Lapensee Essingone
A lawyer and tax inspector, Joseph Lapensee Essingone is the least publicly known of the candidates – which he presents as his strength, calling himself an alternative to established political figures and campaigning under the banner "the candidate of change and unity".
The 53-year-old studied and worked in France for several years. With his academic and professional background in law and public finance, his campaign focuses on social justice and economic recovery.
(with newswires)
