Almost six weeks after the coup in Gabon, the central African state's new military ruler, Brice Oligui Nguema, has appointed a new National Assembly and Senate.
The names of 98 members of the lower chamber of the legislature and 70 senators who will serve as a transitional government were read out on state television late on Saturday.
The newly formed National Assembly is composed of members of the opposition and the ruling party of President Ali Bongo, who was deposed on Aug. 30. The senators come from "civil society," such as trade unions and civil society organizations.
Last month, Nguema appointed Raymond Ndong Sima, a critic of Bongo, as prime minister. Nguema, who previously headed Bongo's presidential guard, said he wanted to bring "more democracy to Gabon" following the coup. However, he has not specified a timetable for new elections.
Bongo's family has ruled the oil-producing but poor nation for 56 years. His detractors say he has done little to channel its oil and other wealth toward the population of some 2.3 million people, a third of whom live in poverty.
Bongo, 64, succeeded his father Omar as president in 2009 and was reelected in a disputed election in 2016.
Gabon foiled an attempted military coup in January 2019 after soldiers briefly seized the state radio station and broadcast a message saying Bongo, who had suffered a stroke months earlier, was no longer fit for office.
