By Jean-Rovys Dabany
Gabon, a French-speaking Central African country with just over 2.3 million population, goes to the hustings on August 26 with as many as 19 candidates vying for the presidency.
Voters are also to elect their MPs and local council officials. There are about 800,000 eligible voters – mainly young people.
President Ali Bongo Ondimba has governed the country for two seven-year terms since succeeding his father, on both occasions winning electoral contests.
He is now seeking a third term after a recent constitutional amendment allowing him to do so.
Facing him this time is Albert Ondo Ossa, a former minister and economics professor who has the backing of six of the 19 candidates in the running.
In a country where nearly 60% of young people are unemployed, the presidential candidates are all betting big on this aspirational demographic to tilt the poll scales in their favour.
Cédric Wandja, 38, represents the kind of voters the challengers in the fray seem to be focusing on. He once dreamt of a desk job, but that wasn't true.
Patiently awaiting customers in his stall at Mont-Bouët market, the largest in the Gabonese capital, Libreville, Cédric can only look back wistfully at the eight years he spent looking for a job after completing his baccalaureate. He would have gone to university, but didn't have the money to do so.
Huge resources
To support his family, Cédric set up shop at Mont-Bouët, selling clothes and shoes. The stall earns him at least 400,000 CFA franc (US $800) monthly.
Cédric sees entrepreneurship as the only feasible solution for young Gabonese against rampant unemployment. "There are many like us now who have understood that enterprise can help put food on the table for your family and, above all, provide a pathway to build big businesses at some stage," he tells TRT Afrika.
For a country with a sparse population and substantial mineral wealth compared to many nations of that size, a youth unemployment rate exceeding 30% makes the issue a political hot potato.
The data, contained in a report published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year, underscores the fact that the level of poverty and unemployment remains high in Gabon despite the country possessing important natural resources, including oil, gold and manganese.
Across Libreville, people like Cédric live a life that could have been far better. Many are graduates; some have started businesses, while others have taken up small jobs or are making ends meet working in the informal sector.
Eric Etoung, who earns a living as a men's hairdresser, believes the government should emphasise strengthening the informal sector to give young people a wider choice of employment in the labour market.
"Trade isn't valued here, although it could be a springboard for some young people who have not had other opportunities, including being unable to study further," Eric tells TRT Afrika.
"It's trivial, really, but everyone seems to think working in an office is the be-all and end-all, whereas it is not the only solution," he says.
Hard-fought campaign
A kilometre from where Eric stands, on one of the busier streets of the capital, 29-year-old Joël has come to attend a rally organised by the coalition throwing its weight behind Ondo Ossa's campaign.
In 2009, he voted for President Ali Bongo, who, according to him, seemed to be the hope of young people. Fourteen years later, and after two successive mandates, he is disappointed at the promise of opportunities for the youth remaining unfulfilled.
Joël makes no secret that he has switched allegiance to the opposition, at least for now.
"The Gabonese are tired of false promises. There are no jobs for young people. Earning enough for even basic necessities such as food is getting harder. We need change," he says before joining his friends who have come to attend the opposition's rally at the Rio crossroads.
Over the past two weeks leading to the vote, President Ali Bongo has set the tone with a high-voltage campaign that has drawn crowds. His portraits dominate the cityscape along the main arteries of the capital.
Germaine, an avowed Ali Bongo loyalist, calls him the "best President" and a deserving candidate for a third successive term. "We need a President who advocates peace for his people. We do not want power-hungry people at the helm," declares the young voter.
Last weekend, the opposition gathered around Alternance 2023, a coalition of the main challengers. The gathering projected Ondo Ossa as their consensus candidate for the election.
He is also supported by three former ministers: Alexandre Barro Chambrier of the Rassemblement pour la Patrie et la Modernité, Paulette Missambo of the National Union, and Raymond Ndong Sima, who was the Prime Minister for just under two years during Ali Bongo's first presidential term.
Gabonese like Cédric head to the polls; they hope those elected will improve the economy and ensure peace and security.
