NNA – General Brice Oligui Nguema, who led a coup last week that toppled Gabonrsquo;s 55-year-old ruling dynasty, took the oath of office as interim president on Monday, promising ldquo;free, transparent and credible electionsrdquo; to restore civilian rule but without giving a timeframe.
He also vowed to amnesty political prisoners, in a speech in which he insisted the coup had saved Gabon from bloodshed after elections that were ldquo;obviously loaded.rdquo;
In a speech after taking the oath of office, Oligui said the promised elections would be the stepping stone to ldquo;handing power back to the civilians,rdquo; although he did not specify any date.
He said he was seeking the participation of all of Gabonrsquo;s ldquo;core groupsrdquo; to draft a new constitution, which ldquo;will be adopted by referendum.rdquo; mdash; AFPnbsp;
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