On 12 November, a criminal court sentenced Sylvia Bongo Ondimba and Noureddin Bongo-Valentin, the wife and son of ousted president Ali Bongo Ondimba, to 20 years in prison for several corruption-related offences committed during his rule. They were also fined and ordered to pay XAF 1.2 trillion (USD 2.1 billion) in damages. According to the prosecution, the pair, who live in London and were tried in absentia, exploited Ali Bongo Ondimba’s poor health to run Gabon for their profit, embezzling an estimated XAF 4.9 billion (nearly USD 8.7 million) of public funds. Both denied the charges. Their two-day trial was immediately followed by the trial of ten political and business associates alleged to have enabled their embezzlement, nine of whom were convicted of corruption-related offences and sentenced to prison. These associates were also fined and required to pay billions of XAF in damages. Ali Bongo Ondimba is not being prosecuted due to his immunity as a former head of state. 

Sources: Jeune Afrique (1), Jeune Afrique (2), L'Union, Agence France Presse  

President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema’s party, the Democratic Union of Builders (Union démocratique des bâtisseurs, UDB), won Gabon’s indirect Senate elections held on 8 (first round) and 29 November (second round), the first since the 2023 military coup. The Constitutional Court declared the results for 68 of the 70 Senate seats on 2 December. Of these, UDB won 46 (67.6 per cent), followed by the former governing party, the Gabonese Democratic Party (Parti démocratique gabonais, PDG), which won five (7.4 per cent). Both parties also won additional, shared seats through various inter-party electoral alliances. Twenty of the 94 candidates (21.3 per cent) were women, short of the 30 per cent candidate quota imposed by the electoral code. Women secured 17 (25 per cent) of the 68 confirmed seats. The result consolidates the UDB’s dominant position in Gabon’s parliament, following the National Assembly elections in September and October in which it won more than 70 per cent of the seats. The senators were elected by an electoral college of local councillors. 

Sources: L'Union, Agence de Presse Africaine, Ministère de l’Intérieur, de la Sécurité et de la Décentralisation (1), Ministère de l’Intérieur, de la Sécurité et de la Décentralisation (2), Inter-Parliamentary Union,  International IDEA            

The Democratic Union of Builders (Union démocratique des bâtisseurs, UDB), the party led by the recently elected President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, won Gabon’s legislative elections, which were held on 27 September (first round) and 11 October (second round). They were the first since the 2023 military coup that initially brought Nguema to power. The Constitutional Court declared the results for 137 of the 145 National Assembly seats on 1 November. Of these, 101 (73.7 per cent) were won by the UDB, with the former governing party, the Gabonese Democratic Party (Parti démocratique gabonais, PDG), coming in second with 17 seats (12.4 per cent) and independent candidates forming the third largest grouping with 7 seats (5.1 per cent). Irregularities, including missing ballots and falsified results, led to the annulment of results in several contests, by-elections in the affected constituencies and extensive litigation. Despite these irregularities, observers from the Economic Community of Central African States found the elections to have been ‘peaceful, free and transparent.’ Of the 856 candidates contesting the legislative elections, 139 (16.3 per cent) were women.   

Sources: L'Union, Jeune Afrique, Ministère de l’Intérieur, de la Sécurité et de la Décentralisation (1), Gabon Media Time, Gabon Review, Ministère de l’Intérieur, de la Sécurité et de la Décentralisation (2)

On 12 August, the Gabonese government adopted an order granting a general amnesty to those who participated in the 2023 coup d’état that removed former President Ali Bongo and which was led by recently elected President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema. Its provisions also extend to participants in a 2019 failed coup attempt led by Lieutenant Kelly Ondo Obiang, who was subsequently imprisoned by the Bongo regime. The order, which the government said was intended to facilitate national reconciliation, covers ‘common law offences and those against the internal or external security of the state’ but excludes economic offences, serious violations of human rights and offences unconnected to the coups. In applicable cases, the order has the effect of expunging convictions, ceasing current prosecutions, prohibiting future prosecutions and provides for the immediate release of prisoners. Kelly was released from prison on 30 August.

Sources: Présidence de la République Gabonaise,  Jeune Afrique, Agence de Presse Africaine, Seneweb  

On 27 June, President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema promulgated a law that imposes strict new regulations on political parties and is likely to significantly reconfigure the political landscape. According to the government, its objective is to rationalise the party system, making political parties stronger and more accountable and reduce their number–—currently more than 100. Many of these are thought to be ‘shell’ parties, allegedly established as vehicles for personal political ambition or corruption. Among the law’s provisions are requirements that new parties have a membership of at least 10,000 people across all nine of Gabon’s provinces, that they participate in elections, file extensive documentation and undergo an annual review of funding. While acknowledging the need for rationalization, political actors and commentators warned the new law will narrow political competition, with very few parties likely to be able to meet its demands. They have one year to do so.     

Sources: Loi n°016/2025 du 27 juin 2025 relative aux partis politique en République Gabonaise, Jeune Afrique (1), Jeune Afrique (2), info241