A military coup has been carried out in Gabon, further sending shockwaves across the continent, especially the Francophone states. Gabonese soldiers appearing on television on August 30, 2023 announced they were “putting an end to the current regime”, announcing the cancellation of recent election results and the dissolution of “all the institutions of the republic”. There were reports of gunfire in the capital, Libreville, as the military officers announced the takeover on national television.
The country has been ruled by the father and son since 1967, a total of 56 years. President Ali Bongo has ruled Gabon since 2009, after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled the central African country from 1967 to 2009. He has continued to hold on to power, even after suffering a stroke that has restricted him physically for some years now.
While announcing the cancellation of the results one of the soldiers announced the dissolution of “all the institutions of the republic”. “We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime”, one of the soldiers said on TV channel Gabon 24, 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 added.
“All the institutions of the republic are dissolved: the government, the Senate, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court,” the officer added, announcing the closure of the country’s borders “until further notice”. Among the soldiers were members of the Republican Guard as well as soldiers of the regular army and police officers.
The announcement came shortly after the national election authority said Bongo, who has been in power for 14 years, had won a third term in Saturday’s election with 64.27 percent of the vote.
Bongo’s main rival, Albert Ondo Ossa, won just 30.77 percent of the vote, according to the results. Ondo Ossa had denounced the results as “fraud orchestrated by the Bongo camp”, claiming victory ahead of the closure of polls.
Ondo Ossa’s campaign manager, Mike Jocktane, called on Bongo to hand over power “without bloodshed”, insisting a partial count had Ondo Ossa clearly ahead, but he had provided no proof of this claim.
Gabonese law forbids any publication of partial results pending the final result which only the Gabonese Elections Centre, the body that organises the polls, is legally allowed to publish.
The official election results were broadcast at 03:30 (02:30 GMT) on state television without any prior announcement of the event.
Before polls closed on Saturday, Bongo’s government imposed a curfew and a nationwide internet shutdown to prevent the spread of “false news” and possible violence, according to Libreville.
