Gabon is preparing for a major electoral exercise, with more than 18,800 candidates now confirmed for the country’s dual legislative and local elections scheduled for September 27, 2025.
Electoral authorities have also recorded 156,445 updates to the voter rolls in the run-up to the polls.
Speaking at a press conference on September 16, the Minister of the Interior outlined the scale of the revisions.
The updates included 18,170 new voter registrations, 124,472 changes of polling centers, 617 deletions, and 13,682 other modifications, reflecting a comprehensive revision of the electoral register ahead of the first elections since the August 30, 2023 coup d’état.
The ministry reported that more than 800 validated applications are competing for 145 parliamentary seats, while over 18,000 candidates are contesting 3,078 local council positions.
This represents an average of nearly six candidates per local council seat and approximately 5.5 contenders per parliamentary seat, indicating intense electoral competition across Gabon.
Despite these preparations, opposition voices have raised concerns. Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, president of the Ensemble pour le Gabon (EPG) party, met with Head of State Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema on September 18 to request a postponement. He cited risks of disruption to the school calendar and delays in meeting the legal deadlines for the publication of candidacies.
In response, President Oligui Nguema reaffirmed the importance of holding the elections as scheduled, describing them as a key step in the transition process. The electoral calendar remains unchanged, with campaign activities for the first round running from September 17 to 26, and the second round scheduled from October 1 to 10.
Authorities are also implementing measures to ensure transparency, including the training of scrutineers, conducting public counts, and hosting an “Election Night” for the continuous dissemination of provisional results.
Bilie-By-Nze, who finished second in the April 12, 2025 presidential election won by Oligui Nguema, continues to lead opposition calls for caution. However, the large number of validated candidates and extensive voter roll updates underline the country’s robust preparations for what is expected to be a highly contested electoral process across 3,223 seats.
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