[10][11] Raponda was elected mayor of the capital city Libreville on 26 January 2014, representing the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party.

[14] On 12 February 2019, Raponda was appointed as the Defense Minister of Gabon by president Ali Bongo Ondimba after the failed coup in January 2019.

[13][15][16] Raponda replaced Etienne Massard Kabinda Makaga, a member of the Bongo family, who had held the position since 2016.

[17] On 16 July 2020, Raponda was appointed as the Prime Minister of Gabon, after her predecessor Julien Nkoghe Bekale stepped down.

Her appointment was the fourth cabinet shuffle by Ondimba since the failed coup[18] and occurred amid the dual health and economic crises due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the fall in the price of oil, one of the country's main resources.