ECCAS’s envoy in Gabon to defuse crisis

Gabon’s new leader Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema received Tuesday September 5 Central Africa Republic (CAR) President and envoy of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) Faustin Archange Touadéra, in a bid to defuse the political crisis in the central African country, after a junta deposed incumbent leader Ali Omar Bongo Ondimba.

Touadera told Gabon’s state-run television his visit was meant to engage with various political stakeholders and partners of the country to ensure a quick return to the constitutional order, one week after Ali Bongo was ousted from power.

The ECCAS on Monday September 4 suspended Gabon as Oligui Nguema was sworn in as the Transitional President of Gabon. The regional bloc indicated that the country will be reinstated in the organization after the constitutional order is restored.

At the inauguration ceremony, the new leader promised constitutional reforms adding that a new Constitution must be drawn up for Gabon, guaranteeing the establishment of more democratic institutions but stopped short to provide a timeline for the transition.