Gabon military leader meets the opposition candidate
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Gabon military leader Nguema has met the opposition candidate Albert Ondo Ossa as part of consultations on rebuilding the country
Gabon military leader Nguema has met the opposition candidate Albert Ondo Ossa as part of consultations on rebuilding the country.
The interim leadera Oligui Nguema has met Albert Ondo Ossa, the main opposition candidate in elections that precipitated the coup, Ondo Ossa’s spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The meeting marks a further step by Oligui to forge contacts with key figures after Wednesday’s dramatic events.
Ondo Ossa, 69, was the chief rival to Bongo in fiercely disputed presidential elections on August 26.
The meeting took place at Ondo Ossa’s home, said Guy-Pamphile Mba, in charge of the former candidate’s communications.
The military authorities appear to be courting the support of the opposition to chart a new path for Gabon.
In the immediate aftermath of the coup, Ondo Ossa urged Oligui to step aside, arguing that he had won the elections, but the outcome had now been “cancelled” by the military takeover.
He also suggested that family ties connected Oligui and Bongo, and that the event was less a coup than a “palace revolution” that was now perpetuating what he called the “Bongo system.”
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Mr Ossa boycotted Monday’s inauguration ceremony of Gen Nguema as he indicated that he had won the annulled elections.
Mr Ossa gave no details, but said the talks focused on the transition and restoration of government institutions.
Nguema Oligui, head of the elite Republican Guard, was sworn in on Monday as interim president.
In a speech, he promised to hold “free, transparent and credible elections” to restore civilian rule, but he did not give a timeframe.
He also vowed to amnesty “prisoners of opinion,” a move that was followed on Tuesday by the release of several individuals, said rights lawyer Anges Kevin Nzigou.
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