A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on national television early Wednesday morning and said they had taken power, minutes after the state’s electoral body announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term.
Appearing on the Gabon 24 television channel, the officers said they represented all security and defense forces in the Central African country.
They said the election results were annulled, all borders were closed until further notice and state institutions were dissolved.
Loud gunfire was heard in the capital Libreville, a Reuters reporter said, after a televised appearance.
There was no immediate comment from the government of the OPEC member country.
There were no immediate reports of the whereabouts of Bongo, who was last seen in public when he cast his ballot in Saturday’s election.
“On behalf of the people of Gabon … we have decided to defend peace by ending the current regime,” the official said in a statement.
Appearing on the Gabon 24 television channel, the officials said they represented all the security and defense forces in the Central African country. Gabon 24/AFP via Getty Images
As one officer read a joint statement, about a dozen others stood silently behind him in military fatigues and berets.
The military personnel introduced themselves as members of the Institutional Transition and Rehabilitation Committee.
The state institutions they declared dissolved included the government, the senate, the national assembly, the constitutional court and the electoral body.
If successful, the coup would represent the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020.
Coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger have undermined democratic progress in recent years.
There were no immediate reports of the whereabouts of Bongo, who was last seen in public when he cast his ballot in the election on Saturday.STR/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Last month, the military seized power in Niger, sending shockwaves across the Sahel and draining global powers with strategic interests at stake.
Tensions are high in Gabon amid fears of unrest after Saturday’s presidential, parliamentary and legislative vote, which saw Bongo seek to extend his family’s 56-year grip on power while the opposition pushed for changes in the oil and cocoa but poverty-stricken nation.
The lack of international observers, the suspension of several foreign broadcasts, and the authorities’ decision to cut internet services and impose a nighttime curfew across the country after the poll raised concerns about the transparency of the election process.
The state institutions they declared dissolved include the government, senate, national assembly, constitutional court and electoral body.AP
Gabon foiled an attempted military coup in January 2019 after the military briefly seized the state’s radio station and broadcast a message saying Bongo, who had suffered a stroke months earlier, was no longer fit to hold office.
The situation was restored a few hours later after two suspected coup plotters were killed and others arrested.
EFFECTIVE SINCE 2009
Gabon’s Electoral Center said earlier on Wednesday that Bongo had won the election with 64.27% of the vote and his main challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa, had come second with 30.77%.
Bongo, 64, who succeeded his father Omar as president in 2009, is running against 18 challengers, six of whom are backing Ondo Ossa in an attempt to narrow the race.
The government has said web blackouts and curfews are necessary to prevent the spread of fake news and to protect public safety. Bongo’s disputed 2016 election victory sparked violent protests that saw parliament buildings torched.
His team has dismissed allegations of fraud by Ondo Ossa and his opposition alliance after voting was marred by many polling stations opening hours late.
The Alternance 2023 Alliance also reported other alleged irregularities including ballot slips for its candidates not being used correctly in some constituencies. Reuters could not independently verify the claim.
The European Union was not invited to observe these elections. EU monitors have previously questioned the legitimacy of Bongo’s narrow victory in the 2016 presidential vote.
On Monday, media watchdog Reporters without Borders (RSF) voiced concern over internet restrictions and the temporary suspension of Gabon broadcasts by French international news channels RFI, France 24, and TV5 Monde.
Tensions are high in Gabon amid fears of unrest after Saturday’s presidential, parliamentary and legislative vote, which saw Bongo seek to extend his family’s 56-year grip on power while the opposition pushed for changes in the oil and cocoa but poverty-stricken country. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
“RSF condemns a series of attacks on press freedom and information pluralism, facts that may affect the transparency of general elections,” it said in an online post.
The opposition has disputed both of Bongo’s previous election victories, citing fraud. He came to power in the 2009 vote following the death of his father Omar Bongo before being re-elected in 2016.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
