Around 860,000 registered voters are expected to vote in Gabon's April 12 presidential election. The crucial polls come 19 months after the military staged a coup and ousted President Ali Bongo from power, ending a political dynasty that lasted 56 years.

Here are five things to know about the election.

Saturday's presidential election is a crucial test for the military-led transitional government's promise to restore civilian rule. The August 2023 coup in Gabon was the last in a string of coups that swept through the continent between August 2020 and August 2024. However, Gabon is the first to seek a return to constitutional rule.

Analysts say other countries in the region like Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, which are also under military rule, will be closely following the election. So, what message could Gabon's election send to the junta regimes?

"Get a timetable and have an election," Alex Vines, Director of the Africa Programme at Chatham House, London, told DW.

© Deutsche Welle