Gabon's transitional leader Brice Oligui Nguema said on Thursday that the central African country would hold a presidential election on March 22, Reuters reported.
Nguema was sworn in as interim leader in September 2023, after his junta ousted President Ali Bongo in the eighth coup in West and Central Africa since 2020.
The Gabonese largely welcomed the military's ousting of Bongo, whose family's poor management of the country's oil wealth had led to a stagnant economy and stranded a third of the population in poverty.
Nguema's announcement of the election date follows a referendum on a new constitution in November that was portrayed as a key step towards re-establishing democratic rule after Bongo was ousted.
Some observers have been concerned that the process could favour interim authorities. While transitional leaders are barred from running for the presidency, an exception has been made for Nguema.
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