The President of the Central African Republic (CAR), Faustin Touadera, held closed-door talks with Gabon’s newly appointed junta leader in Libreville on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, in the wake of the main region’s bloc’s condemnation of the coup of August 30, 2023.
The Central African bloc, ECCAS, suspended Gabon’s membership but has so far stopped short of imposing sanctions in response to the non-violent military ouster of President Ali Bongo.
President Touadera was visiting Libreville, the capital of Gabon, as a mediator between the junta and ECCAS.
No statements have come out about what was discussed during Touadera’s discussion with the junta’s General Brice Oligui Nguema, who was sworn in as interim president on Monday, September 4, 2023, amidst happiness from supporters who were already tired of the Bongo family’s 56-year hold on power.
It is not known how long Nguema will hold on to power. However, he said that the country will not rush into a new election in order to avoid a repeat of past mistakes. He gave the Gabonose hope for a better and brighter future for their country.
The leader of Gabon’s main opposition alliance, Albert Ondo Ossa, said he had spoken with Nguema about some internal political forces that are rallying around the new leaders.
Ondo Ossa’s opposition platform, Alternance 2023, asserts that he was the rightful winner of the recent election, though military officers seized power shortly after Bongo was announced as the winner.
Almost nothing has been heard from Bongo since he was placed under house arrest during the coup, apart from a video that went viral while seeking international support.
Opposition parties in the country urged that the junta resume the electoral process in order to conclude the vote count so as to pave the way for victory for opposition leader Albert Ondo Ossa, who was the runner-up in the annulled election.
There have been nine coups in the past three years in the former French colonies of Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Tunisia, and Gabon.
