Iran Press/Africa: Ali Bongo has been out of Gabon for two months recovering from a stroke, Gabon national television reported on Saturday.
During last Monday’s coup, Gabon's military announced army has seized power in the African country.
The plotters of recent coup attempt were arrested or killed within hours of seizing the national radio station, but the move reflected growing frustration with a government weakened by Bongo’s secretive medical leave in Morocco.
Former prime minister, Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet has served since 2016.
Issoze-Ngondet’s tenure was marked by a sharp drop in oil output and prices that has squeezed revenues, raised debt and stoked discontent in the OPEC member state.
Oil workers’ strikes have become more common, and economic growth was 2 percent last year, down from over 7 percent in 2011.
Bongo’s absence from Gabon since his Oct. 24 stroke in Saudi Arabia has raised questions about his ability to continue carrying out his official functions, although the government has insisted he is recovering well.
Bongo won re-election in 2016 by fewer than 6,000 votes amid widespread accusations of fraud, sparking deadly clashes between protesters and police during which the parliament was torched.105/210/211
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