Sawt Falasteen - Gabon ex-junta chief Oligui sworn in after election win

The former junta leader, who won nearly 95 percent of the vote in last month's election, was sworn in for a seven-year term after 19 months of military rule since he toppled Ali Bongo in August 2023.

Sixteen African heads of state had arrived for the inauguration ceremony at a stadium north of the capital Libreville, with supporters decked out in T-shirts and flags bearing Oligui's likeness packing the 40,000-capacity venue.

Oligui, 50, entered the stadium on the back of a white, open-roof car at around 1:30 pm (1230 GMT), having eschewed his general's uniform in favour of a dark civilian suit with a red sash across his chest.

Leaders in attendance included Gambia's Adama Barrow, Senegal's Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Djibouti's Ismail Omar Guelleh and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo from Equatorial Guinea.

The Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi likewise made his entrance around midday, followed by Rwanda's Paul Kagame.

Tickets were free to attend the investiture at the Angondje stadium, and spectators waited much of the day in a festive atmosphere for the stands to fill up.

It was the first time the country held a presidential inauguration ceremony in front of such a large audience.

- Challenges ahead -

From the morning the roads of the capital Libreville and around the Angondje stadium were clogged with traffic, AFP journalists saw.

In the lead-up, hundreds of workers had been painstakingly cleaning and repainting areas around the main roads leading to the stadium.

Before a full return to constitutional order, Gabon still has to set up legislative elections, which, Oligui announced Saturday, would take place in the autumn.

"From now on, Gabon is a full member of democratic states and will forever be a model of successful transition," said Central African Republic's President Faustin Archange Touadera.

Among the main concerns are an ageing electricity network that suffers frequent power cuts, youth unemployment that hovers at 40 percent, poor or lacking roads, and a ballooning public debt that is forecast to hit 80 percent of GDP this year.

During the transition, Oligui portrayed himself as a "builder", launching numerous construction projects while vowing to "crack down" on corruption to get the country back on track.

A.Suleiman--SF-PST