Central African president appears on Gabon state TV welcomed by Oligui

Gabon’s new strongman, General Brice Oligui Nguema, on Tuesday met the Central African Republic’s president, Faustin Archange Touadera, who has been named regional mediator for the country following last week’s coup, state TV said.

The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) has appointed Touadera “facilitator of the political process” in Gabon following the August 30 overthrow of President Ali Bongo Ondimba.

He has been tasked with meeting “all Gabonese actors and partners of the country” with the goal of providing “a rapid return to constitutional order.”

The television gave no details of the talks, which came a day after ECCAS member Equatorial Guinea said Gabon had been suspended from the 11-nation group.

ECCAS also ordered the immediate transfer of its headquarters from Gabon’s Libreville to the Equatorial Guinea capital of Malabo, the country’s vice president, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, said on X, previously known as Twitter.

In addition to Gabon, Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea, ECCAS comprises Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Sao Tome and Principe.

Oligui, head of the elite Republican Guard, was sworn in on Monday as the country’s interim president.

In a speech, he promised to hold “free, transparent and credible elections” to restore civilian rule but without giving a timeframe and vowed to amnesty political prisoners.

Additional sources • AFP

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