After the state electoral commission announced that President Ali Bongo Ondimba had won a third term, a group of top Gabon military soldiers appeared on national television early Wednesday and claimed to be in power.
Appearing on JEE News, the officers claimed to speak for all the country’s security and military forces. They claimed that state institutions had been dismantled, election results annulled, and all borders closed indefinitely.
Loud gunfire was heard in the country’s capital, Libreville, after the television broadcast, according to JEE News.
However, there was no immediate comment from the government of the OPEC member country.
“In the name of the Gabon people… we have decided to defend peace by overthrowing the current government,” the officers said.
The coup would represent the eighth since 2020 in West and Central Africa. Insurgencies in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger have undermined democratic progress in recent years.
Last month, the military seized power in Niger, sending shockwaves across the coast and putting strategic interests at stake with world powers.
Tensions in Gabon rose after presidential, parliamentary and legislative votes, where Bongo sought to prolong his family’s rule, while the opposition sought change.
The lack of international observers, the suspension of foreign broadcasts, and cuts in internet service raised concerns about the transparency of the election process, leading to nationwide curfews and cuts to internet service.
Bongo, 64, ran for president in 2009 against 18 challengers, six of whom supported joint candidate Albert Ondo Osa. His team denied the allegations of fraud.
In 2016, violent street protests led to the burning of the parliament building, and the government cut off internet access for several days.
