Yemi Obafemi
Military officers in Gabon said they have seized democratic rule on Wednesday, after Central Africa State election body announced the victory of President Ali Bongo third term as the president.
The election which took place on Saturday, the Gabonese Election Centre on Wednesday said Bongo won the election with 64.27% of the vote and his main challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa, had secured 30.77%.
Speaking on television channel Gabon 24 some senior officers announced the cancellation of the election, adding that they had closed the country border and dissolved State institutions which includes the government, the senate, the national assembly, the constitutional court and the election body.
After the officers’ announcement, internet access appeared to be restored for the first time since Saturday’s vote. The government had said the web blackout and curfew were necessary to prevent the spread of fake news and to protect public safety.
According to Reuters, the officers, calling themselves The Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions, said Gabon was “undergoing a severe institutional, political, economic, and social crisis”, and said the Aug. 26 election was not transparent or credible.
Following the announcement, some people took to the streets of the capital Libreville to celebrate the cancellation which appeared to have been filmed from the presidential palace, according to the television images.
Reuters reports that “Gunfire was heard briefly in Libreville after the statement announcing the ousting of Bongo. But the streets were largely calm before celebrations erupted. Police officers guarded major city intersections.”
There was no immediate comment from Gabon’s government and there were no immediate reports on the whereabouts of Bongo, 64, who was last seen in public casting his vote on Saturday.
The president had appeared in public before the vote looking healthier than previous rare and frail television appearances following a stroke in 2019.
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said France, Gabon’s former colonial ruler, was following the situation closely.
The coup creates more uncertainty for France’s presence in the region. It has about 350 troops stationed in Gabon. French forces were kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso after coups in those countries, amid a wave of anti-French sentiment, and the coup leaders in Niger have also ordered them to leave.
China’s foreign ministry called for the situation in Gabon to be resolved peacefully and said the personal safety of Bongo, who visited China in April, should be ensured.
If successful, the Gabon coup would be the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020. The latest one, in Niger, was in July. Military officers have also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad, erasing democratic gains since the 1990s.
Gabon produces about 200,000 barrels of oil a day, mainly from depleting fields. International companies include France’s TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) and Anglo-French producer Perenco. No
Bongo succeeded his father Omar as president in 2009 and was re-elected in a disputed election in 2016 and had ruled for 56 years.
