Central African Republic President Faustin Touadera negotiated behind closed doors with Gabon rebel leader in Libreville on Tuesday in the wake of the main regional bloc’s condemnation of the Aug. 30 coup, according to Reuters.
Central African bloc ECCAS has suspended Gabon’s membership, but has so far stopped short of imposing sanctions in response to the non-violent military ouster of President Ali Bongo – West and Central Africa’s eighth coup in three years.
The press did not received any statements after Touadera’s private audience with the rebel’s General Brice Oligui Nguema, who was sworn in as interim president on Monday to cheers from supporters welcoming the end of the Bongo family’s 56-year staying in power.
A source in the Gabonese presidential palace said that Touadera was visiting in Libreville, the capital, in the capacity of a mediator between the junta and ECCAS.
Nguema has promised to appoint a new government for the oil-producing nation in the coming days and oversee free and fair elections, although he has not made any suggestions how long he thinks the transition to democracy will last.
In a possible sign some internal political forces are standing together around the new authorities, the leader of Gabon’s main opposition alliance, Albert Ondo Ossa, said he had spoken with Nguema on Tuesday. He noticed in his post:
“Today, at my home, I had the opportunity to have a private and collegial conversation with the President of the Transition. Let’s dare to believe in a better and brighter future for our beloved country, Gabon.”
According to Ondo Ossa’s opposition platform Alternance 2023, he was the rightful winner of a recent election. Military officers took power quickly after Bongo won the elections. However, the result they annulled and said was not credible. Apart from one video appeal for international support, little has been heard from Bongo since he was placed under house arrest during the coup.
