[ad_1]
Gabon’s head of state Ali Bongo Ondimba on Monday elected one of his loyal followers, Alain-Claude Billy By NuzĂ©, as the new prime minister, replacing Rose Cristiane Ossoka Laponda, who was appointed vice-president of the republic. I was.
Joining eight months before the presidential election, Mr. Bongo is a heavyweight in Gabon politics.
Bilie-By-Nze, 55, has held several portfolios since 2006 and served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Water Resources in the previous government.
Ossoka Laponda, Gabon’s first female head, was appointed vice-president, a position that had been vacant since May 2019. power vacuum.
“By order of the President of the Republic, (…) Mr. Alain-Claude Billy By Nze is appointed Prime Minister and Head of Government,” Jean-Yves Thiel, secretary-general of the Presidential Office, told the press. declared.
Read also: Gabon: Rose Christian Ossouka Raponda named first-ever female Vice President
A few hours later, Mr. Bilie-By-Nze himself announced the composition of his government. The previous government was renewed much the same for key and intermediate posts, but with the addition of seven deputy ministers he went from 38 to his 45 members.
Ossoka Laponda, 59, is the former mayor and minister of defense of Libreville, the capital, and has served as prime minister since July 2020.
Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for summer 2023.
Ali Bongo was first elected in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who ruled this small oil-rich Central African state for more than 41 years.
Read also – Gabon’s PDG appeals to President Ondimba to seek re-election
Since a stroke in October 2018 kept him out of public view for months, the head of state has frequently reshuffled his government after calling on ministers to “work for the people” upon returning from recovery. I’ve been Population” . The Office of the President periodically submits them for audit.
Billy By Nze, who has already held key ministries, including foreign affairs, was also Mr. Bongo’s political advisor and spokesperson from 2012 to 2015. He is seen as a close and loyal supporter of the head of state.
The post of vice president, which was first entrusted to a woman on Monday, has been vacant since May 2019. The post came as his 2017 nominated opponent, former Vice President Pierre Claver Maganga Moussavu, took office after political dialogue with the opposition. dismissed.
The Vice President is appointed by the Head of State, who can remove the Vice President at any time. This position was retired from his 2009 to 2017. The constitution gives the president a relatively minor role. “The President is assisted by the Vice-President of the Republic,” and the Vice-President “provides the President with the functions delegated by him.”
That is why, eight months before the presidential election, Mr. Bongo elected Gabon political heavyweight Alan-Claude Billy Bey Nuzet to head his government.
Re-elected by a narrow margin in 2016, beating challenger Ali Bongo, 63, by more than 5,000 votes, he is widely expected to be the candidate for the party’s leader, the Almighty Democratic Party of Gabon (PDG), in 2023. I’m here. has called him a “deserved candidate” for a year.
For now, the opposition is split into a number of parties, whose leaders, whether they have already declared candidates or not, have said they will “unite to put an end to the Bongo dynasty, which has spanned more than 55 years.” ” is sought.
[ad_2]
Source link
