CIVICUS speaks with Sentiment Ondo, Deputy Secretary of Tournons la Page International, about Gabon’s recent legislative, local and presidential elections and what they reveal about the country’s democratic trajectory. Tournons la Page is a pan-African citizen movement that campaigns for democratic change and term limits for presidents in Africa.
General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema came to power in Gabon in an August 2023 coup and consolidated his power in elections in 2025. After winning the April presidential election with over 90 per cent of the vote, his party, the Union Démocratique des Bâtisseurs (UDB), won 103 of 145 parliamentary seats in the September-October legislative elections. Despite the end of the former ruling Bongo family’s 56-year reign, Gabon’s civic space remains restricted and its democratic future uncertain.
