LIBREVILLE, April 12, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Voters in Gabon head to the polls on Saturday for a presidential election widely expected to make junta chief Brice Oligui Nguema the oil-rich country's first elected leader since his 2023 coup.

Oligui, the general who led the August 30, 2023, putsch in the west African nation, has been leading in opinion polls.

He toppled the dynasty of Omar Bongo Ondimba and his son and successor Ali Bongo, who were accused of looting Gabon's wealth during their 55 years of iron-fisted rule.

Oligui took the role of transitional president while overseeing the formation of a government that includes civilians, tasked with drawing up a new constitution.

The country of 2.3 million people is casting ballots at a time of high unemployment, regular power and water shortages, and heavy government debt.

Oligui ditched his military uniform as he campaigned for a seven-year term against seven rivals, including Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze, who served as prime minister under Ali Bongo before the coup.

- 'The one you called' -

Around 920,000 voters are expected to cast their ballots from 7:00 am (0600 GMT), with the polling stations closing at 6:00 pm and final results expected on Monday.

Oligui has predicted a "historic victory" in the election.

"The builder is here, the special candidate, the one you called," Oligui said Thursday among the music and dancing at his closing rally in the capital Libreville.

Bilie By Nze, his main opponent, has cast himself as the candidate for a "complete rupture".

He has accused Oligui, who led the Republican Guard in the Bongo years, of representing a continuity of the old system.

In November, voter turnout for a referendum on the new constitution was just 54.2 percent, according to official figures, though the measure was adopted with a 91.6 percent "yes" vote.