Gabon President appoints new Prime Minister after coup attempt

Ali-Bongo

Ali Bongo

Ali Bongo

Gabon President Ali Bongo has appointed a new prime minister days after surviving a coup attempt that came while he was abroad receiving treatment for a stroke, Bloomberg reports.

Bongo, who has been out of the country since October, appointed Julien Nkoghe Bekale as the country’s new Prime Minister by presidential decree, Secretary-General in the Presidency Jean Yves Teale said in a live broadcast on state television in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Bekale, a former labor minister, replaces Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet, who was appointed by a similar decree in the absence of Bongo. He’s expected to form a new government in the oil-rich nation in the coming days.

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A group of military officials on Jan. 7 seized the state broadcaster and announced plans to “save a democracy in danger.” They have since been arrested and order has been restored. Bongo is recuperating in Morocco following a stroke in October.

 

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