A faction of high-ranking Gabonese military officers has seized power in the country, announcing the takeover on national television early Monday.
The officers stated they were acting on behalf of Gabon’s security and defense forces in response to what they called a fraudulent recent general election. According to the rebels, the disputed election results have been cancelled.
In the televised address, the insurgent officers declared that all borders would be closed immediately until further notice. Additionally, they said all state institutions are being dissolved.
Gunfire erupted in the capital city of Libreville after the broadcast, confirming the mutiny was underway as the rebel soldiers moved to take control.
It was not immediately possible to reach the government for comment.
“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 on television.
Gabon’s incumbent president, Ali Bongo, won a third term in the presidential election with 64.27% of the vote, the Gabonese election centre said on Wednesday, after a delay-plagued general election that the opposition denounced as fraudulent.
Announcing the result in the early hours, the elections head, Michel Stephane Bonda, said Bongo’s main challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa, came second with 30.77%. Bongo’s team rejected Ondo Ossa’s allegations of electoral irregularities.
Tensions were running high amid fears of unrest after Saturday’s presidential, parliamentary and legislative 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, and the authorities’ decision to cut internet service and impose a night-time curfew nationwide after the poll had raised concerns about the transparency of the electoral process.
In July, the military snatched power in Niger, sending shockwaves across the Sahel and sucking in global powers with strategic interests at stake.
Bongo, 64, who succeeded his father Omar as president in 2009, had 18 challengers, six of whom backed Ondo Ossa in an effort to narrow the race.
In 2016, the parliament building was torched when violent street protests erupted against Bongo’s contested re-election for his second term. The government shut down internet access for several days at the time.
With Reuters
