Gabon military officers claim power, say election lacked credibility
Television announcement comes shortly after state election body announces incumbent Ali Bongo had won a third term as president.
A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on national television and said they had taken power, minutes after the state election body announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term.
Appearing on television channelĀ GabonĀ 24 in the early hours on Wednesday, the officers said they represented all security and defence forces in the Central African nation. They said the election results were cancelled, all borders closed until further notice and state institutions dissolved.
Loud sounds of gunfire could be heard in the capital Libreville, the Reuters and AFP news agencies reported after the television appearance.
There was no immediate comment from the government of the OPEC member. There were no immediate reports on the whereabouts of Bongo, who was last seen in public when he cast his vote in the election on Saturday.
āIn the name of theĀ Gabonese people ā¦ we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime,ā the officers said in a statement.
As one officer read the joint statement, about a dozen others stood silently behind him in military fatigues and berets.
The servicemen introduced themselves as members of āThe Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutionsā. The state institutions they declared dissolved included the government, the senate, the national assembly, the constitutional court and the election body.
āLots of uncertaintiesā
If successful, the coup would represent the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020. Coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger have undermined democratic progress in recent years.
Al Jazeeraās Catherine Soi, reporting from Kenya, said that āthere are lots of uncertaintiesā surrounding the military action.
āThere is a lot of tension as well. They [coup leaders] are claiming that the government has not been respecting the will of the Gabonese people for so many years and they say that has to change,ā said Soi.
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Tensions were running high inĀ GabonĀ amid fears of unrest after Saturdayās presidential, parliamentary, and legislative vote, which saw Bongo seeking to extend his familyās 56-year grip on power while the opposition pushed for change in the oil and cocoa-rich but poverty-stricken nation.
The Gabonese Election Centre said Bongo had secured 64.27 percent of the vote compared with 30.77 percent for his main challenger Albert Ondo Ossa, after a process beset by delays.
On Saturday, the opposition camp said the election was a āfraud orchestrated by Ali Bongo and his supportersā after the internet was cut and a curfew imposed. French media outlets France 24, RFI and TV5 Monde were also banned, accused of āa lack of objectivity and balance ā¦ in connection with the current general electionsā, the government said.
A lack of international observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts, and the authoritiesā 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.
āWe also know that the internet is still shut down. It was shut down over the weekend and curfew was imposed,ā Soi said. āSo, people are very afraid.ā
āIt is very hard for people in Gabon to access the information that they need to know what is happening,ā she added.
Bongo was the candidate for the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), the party founded by his father, Omar Bongo, who led Gabon from 1967 to 2009. After his death, his son, then the defence minister, took his place as president and has been in power ever since.
āWe have no idea where President Bongo is. The military did not say where the president is. Things are moving very fast,ā reported Soi.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES