Gabon’s Prime Minister, Raymond Ndong Sima, has said that a two-year military rule by the new transition government is a reasonable objective.
The newly-elected Prime Minister and Gabonese Politician made the statement during an interview with AFP on Sunday.
Ndong Sima was appointed Prime Minister last week after the swearing-in of Gabon’s Military leader, General Brice Oligui Nguema, who led the coup against President Ali Bongo.
Nguema, who was inaugurated the same week, had promised that the transition government would last for two years before transfer to civilian rule.
Sima said, “It’s good to set off with a reasonable objective by saying: we have the desire to see the process come to an end in 24 months so we can go back to elections.”
The Prime Minister added that the “period could end up being slightly longer or shorter.”
The Gabon coup was staged on August 30 after President Bongo had been declared the winner of a presidential election by the Gabonese Election Centre (CGE) with 64.27% of the votes.
The election was declared fraudulent by both the military and the opposition after it was marred by delays.
Bongo, whose victory was expected to mark his third term in office as Gabon’s President, was placed on house arrest and later freed after calls for his release.
Ndong Sima was elected to the National Assembly as a candidate in Kyé, which is located in Woleu-Ntem Province, in the December 2011 parliamentary election, in which the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) won a resounding majority of seats.
Paul Biyoghe Mba, the prime minister, resigned on February 13. Ndong Sima was then appointed prime minister by President Ali Bongo on February 27, 2012. Ndong Sima’s selection was notable because, despite being a Fang, he was from Woleu-Ntem Province in the north. In contrast, the position of Prime Minister was customarily given to an ethnic Fang from Estuaire Province.
For over two years, Ndong Sima was the prime minister. Daniel Ona Ondo was nominated by President Bongo to succeed Ndong Sima on January 24, 2014, following local elections in December 2013. Ona Ondo and Ndong Sima exchanged leadership during a ceremony on January 27.
Ndong Sima left the PDG in July 2015, claiming that the organisation was closed to criticism and alternative viewpoints. Additionally, since leaving office, he has attacked the government’s handling of the economy. Ndong Sima was called an opportunist in response, and PDG Secretary-General Faustin Boukoubi asserted that the PDG was internally democratic.
