The coup plotters declared on Thursday that Ali Bongo Ondimba’s replacement, General Brice Oligui Nguema, will take office as “transitional president” on Monday, September 4, 2023, before the Constitutional Court.

The country’s new strongman, who on Wednesday deposed the narrowly re-elected President Ali Bongo Ondimba by accusing his camp of rigging the presidential election results, also announced the “gradual establishment of transitional institutions” and vowed to uphold all “external and internal commitments.”

Colonel Ulrich Manfoumbi Manfoumbi, spokesman for the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI), which unites all army commanders, said on state television that the President of the Transition will be sworn in before the Constitutional Court on Monday, September 4, 2023, at the Presidency of the Republic.

According to the spokesman, General Oligui also “decided on the gradual establishment of transitional institutions,” the duration of which was not specified, and “instructed all secretaries-general, ministerial cabinets, directors-general, and all those in charge of State services to ensure the immediate effective resumption of work and the continued operation of all public services.”

Colonel Manfoumbi Manfoumbi, President of the Transition, concluded, “wishes to reassure all donors, development partners, and creditors of the State that all measures will be taken to ensure the respect of our country’s commitments both externally and internally.”