Gabon’s Constitutional Court has reinstated four candidates previously rejected by the Ministry of the Interior, bringing to eight the number of contenders for the presidential election scheduled for April 12. The announcement was made on national television on Friday evening.
The new candidates include entrepreneur Zenaba Gninga Chaning. She is joined by Alain Simplice Boungoueres, a former member of parliament and senior civil servant, as well as Thierry Yvon Michel Ngoma and Axel Stophène Ibinga Ibinga, both of whom have already taken part in the 2023 presidential election.
These four candidates join those whose candidacy was automatically validated by the Ministry of the Interior on March 10: Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, current President of the Transition, Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze, former Prime Minister, Joseph Lapensée Essingone, executive with the General Tax Directorate, and Dr Stéphane Germain Iloko Boussiengui, former spokesman for the Gabonese Democratic Party.
The electoral campaign begins on March 29 and ends on April 11, the day before polling day. The elected president will serve a seven-year term, renewable once.