- A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on television in the early hours of Wednesday to announce the suspension of elections and the closing of borders shortly after the election commission said President Ali Bongo had won a third term
The Gabonese military has overthrown the government of Ali Omar Bobgo.
Appearing on the Gabon 24 television channel, the military officers said they represented all the security and defence forces of the central African nation.
The soldiers said the election results on Ali Bongo’s re-election were annulled, all borders were closed until further notice and state institutions dissolved.
“In the name of the Gabonese people … we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime,” the officers said.
One of the soldiers added that “all the institutions of the republic” had been dissolved.
“We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime,” one of the soldiers said, adding that he was speaking on behalf of the “Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions”.
“To this end, the general elections of 26 August 2023 and the truncated results are cancelled,” he said.
“All the institutions of the republic are dissolved: the government, the Senate, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court,” he added, announcing the closure of the country’s borders “until further notice.”
On Saturday, Gabon voted in Presidential, parliamentary and legislative elections in which incumbent Ali Bongo and Ondo Ossa led a race of 14 candidates vying for the top job.
Ali has been battling with stroke and partially paralysed has refuse to let go of power.
This will be the second coup attempt in that country in five years after one was foiled by the people in 2019, resulting in the sentencing of the soldiers involved to 15 years imprisonment in 2021.
If successful, the military will bring the 56-year Bongo family dynasty to a dramatic end.
Current President Ali Bongo took over from his father, Umar Bongo, who was President from 1967 until his death in office in 2009.
Ali Omar Bongo has been President since then, supervising fraudulent elections including the recent one held five days ago where he was declared winner with 52 per cent of the total votes cast, according to the country’s election management body.
Last Saturday, Gabon’s government blocked internet access and imposed a curfew after an election marked by major voting delays, as the opposition cried foul over a poll they hoped would halt President Bongo’s bid to extend his family’s 56-year grip on power.
The outcome of the election heightened tensions, forcing the military to intervene.
Tensions had been running high and there were fears of unrest after Saturday’s vote, which saw Bongo seeking to extend his family’s 56-year grip on power while the opposition pushed for change in the oil- and cocoa-rich but poverty-stricken nation.
A lack of international observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts – including FRANCE 24 and sister radio station Radio France Internationale – and the authorities’ decision to cut internet service and impose a nationwide night-time curfew after the poll had raised concerns about the transparency of the electoral process.
In the early hours of Wednesday, loud sounds of gunfire could be heard in the capital Libreville, Reuters and AFP reporters said following the military officers’ television announcement.
There has been no immediate comment from any official of the Gabonese government under Bongo on the military announced takeover.
FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AFP and AP