Gabonese military officials have declared the closure of the country’s borders and the dissolution of state institutions.
This follows the soldiers’ announcement of overturning the results of the presidential election. The election was aimed at prolonging the Bongo family’s 55-year rule.
The election committee of the Central African nation had proclaimed President Ali Bongo Ondimba as the winner.
Bongo won with 64 percent of the vote in the early hours of Wednesday.
Shortly after, gunfire erupted in Libreville, the capital.
Later that morning, a group of around twelve uniformed soldiers took control of state television, revealing that they had seized power.
“We reaffirm our commitment to respecting Gabon’s commitments to the national and international community,” said a spokesperson for the group, whose members were drawn from the gendarme, the republican guard and other factions of the security forces.
“We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime”, one of the soldiers said on TV channel Gabon 24. He added 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.
Ali Bongo Ondimba aimed for a third term in the recent elections.
He had previously served two terms after assuming power in 2009 following his father Omar Bongo’s 41-year rule.
In January 2019, another group of mutinous soldiers attempted a coup while Bongo was recovering from a stroke in Morocco. But they were swiftly suppressed.
During the election, Bongo was up against an opposition coalition led by economics professor and former education minister Albert Ondo Ossa. His surprise nomination occurred just a week before the vote.
There were concerns about potential post-election violence due to long-standing grievances within the population of around 2.5 million.