LIBREVILLE - The electoral campaign for the upcoming presidential election in Gabon, scheduled for April 12, officially commenced Saturday and will conclude on April 11.

On the first day of the campaign, transitional president Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema addressed his supporters at the Sino-Gabonese Friendship Stadium in northern the country's capital of Libreville.

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"On April 12, 2025, you will choose your candidate, the builder, Special President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema," he told voters.

Nguema, who led the Aug. 30, 2023 coup, resigned from the military to run as a candidate. Gabon's electoral code allows military personnel to run for president if they first take a leave of absence from active duty.

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Eight candidates, including Nguema, are contesting the presidency. If no candidate wins a majority in the April 12 vote, a runoff will be scheduled by the Constitutional Court.

Gabon's constitution sets a seven-year presidential term, renewable only once. It bars an outgoing leader's spouse or descendants from running after two terms, blocking dynastic power transfers.