Gabon will hold a much anticipated presidential election on April 12. Unlike junta-led Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, the Central African quickly embarked on transitioning to civilian rule after an August 2023 coup. How did it achieve such a feat and can Gabon be a role model for the Sahel nations?
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00:00In the heart of Central Africa, a nation stands at the crossroads.
00:09Gabon, rich in natural resources, is making a choice that could echo far beyond its borders.
00:15Gabonese voters are choosing their next president,
00:17and this time Africa and the rest of the world are watching more closely than ever.
00:22Welcome to the flip side.
00:24Between August 2020 and August 2024,
00:30it seemed as if we were watching an unscripted but shocking series called Africa's Got Coups.
00:37Days after military leaders seized power in Gabon,
00:41life in the capital appears to be returning to normal.
00:45Anti-French sentiment has been rising in Niger since the coup in July.
00:50The omens had not been good in Burkina Faso.
00:54At least 13 coup attempts occurred in West and Central Africa during that period.
01:03Eight of them led to the removal of elected leaders.
01:06Gabon was one of them.
01:09Il est porté à la connaissance de la communauté nationale et internationale
01:16que M. Ali Bongo Ondimba ait gardé en résidence surveillée.
01:24I'm Ali Bongo Ondimba, president of Gabon.
01:27And I'm to send a message to all the friends that we have all over the world
01:34to tell them to make noise, to make noise.
01:37For the people here have arrested me.
01:39So let's roll back the tape.
01:43It's August 2023.
01:45Gabon holds elections.
01:47President Ali Bongo wins again.
01:49And many people are like, nah, not Bongo again.
01:57Next thing you know, tanks roll in.
02:00Borders close and the internet shuts down.
02:02Classic coup checklist.
02:04The following month, General Bryce Oligui Nguema,
02:07who spearheaded the coup, is sworn in as the interim president.
02:11Mind you, Nguema is a distant cousin of Bongo.
02:14But then Nguema vows to hold free, transparent elections
02:17and proposes a referendum on a new constitution
02:20to stop dynasty power handovers.
02:23Before the coup, the Bongo family had ruled Gabon for 56 years.
02:27Nguema also pledges to release all political prisoners.
02:30The Gabonese administration junta
02:34recognized that it was not in its interest to not have an election.
02:39On the contrary, military regimes have entrenched themselves
02:44in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso,
02:46citing insecurity, corruption, and mistrust in democratic systems.
02:50The consequences?
02:52Suspended constitutions, suppressed media and critical voices,
02:55and political uncertainty.
02:57Yet, here's Gabon with its challenges,
03:00but choosing a different path towards restoring democracy.
03:03I mean, I'm on the advisory board of an initiative
03:06of the African Union and UNDP called AFSET,
03:10which is to try and encourage transitions
03:12in these sorts of situations.
03:14And Gabon is the primary example
03:15and the main focus of that initiative.
03:19I've already mentioned, I think,
03:20the next country that would be ripe for this sort of process
03:23would be Guinea.
03:25And I think we will eventually see a timetable there.
03:28The April 12th presidential election
03:30isn't just about who wins.
03:32It's about how the process unfolds.
03:34The reality is, I think, we'll see an election result,
03:37which will be a military general,
03:38General Engheimer, changing his military uniform
03:41for a civilian suit, and he'll become a civilian.
03:44Will it be peaceful?
03:45Will it be fair?
03:46Will it restore confidence in the institutions?
03:48Bon, les élections passées,
03:50on savait déjà à quoi s'attendre.
03:52On connaissait déjà à quoi s'attendre.
03:54Aujourd'hui, comme on dit, c'est une lueur d'espoir.
03:58On, personnellement, c'est ça, en fait.
04:01J'ai vu une lueur d'espoir au 30 août,
04:03et vraiment, vraiment, vraiment,
04:05j'ai décidé de participer à cette élection
04:07pour que je puisse changer les choses, en fait.
04:10Le futur prĂ©sident de l'Ătat
04:12dépend au fait de nous,
04:13dépend au fait de notre voix,
04:15de ce que nous allons choisir
04:16et de ce que nous allons décider.
04:18If Gabon can uphold democratic values,
04:20it can spark a new narrative
04:22where African nations reclaim democracy
04:24through civic participation,
04:26not military coups.
04:27It can, once again,
04:29prove that peaceful, transparent elections
04:31can happen in Africa.
04:33Gabon can become the poster child
04:34for how to own coup after a coup,
04:37reminding Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso
04:39that the power of the people
04:41doesn't need a uniform to be heard.
04:43That change and progress
04:44doesn't require force,
04:46only the will of the people.
04:47It could give us a new unscripted series
04:49called Africa's Got Democracy.
04:52And that's the flip side.