Soldiers appeared on Gabonese national television, announcing the cancellation of recent election results and the dissolution of “all the institutions of the republic”.The apparent coup follows shortly after the national election authority’s announcement on Wednesday that Gabon’s President Ali Bongo Ondimba had been re-elected for a third term.
Gabon’s army officers who claimed to have seized power say the country is “on the road to happiness”, adding that Libreville will respect its commitments “to the national and international community”.
“We call for calm and serenity from the public, the communities of sister countries settled in Gabon, and the Gabonese diaspora,” an officer reading a statement on state TV said.
“We reaffirm our commitment to respecting Gabon’s commitments to the national and international community,” he added.
“People of Gabon, we are finally on the road to happiness.”
Meanwhile , Gabon’s borders have been closed indefinitely by soldiers who appeared to have seized power, as announced in a statement broadcast on the state-run Gabon 24 television channel.
“The borders are closed until further notice,” said one of the soldiers, speaking on behalf of a “Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions”.
The group of 12 officers made the announcement shortly after Gabon’s election body reported early on Wednesday morning that President Ali Bongo had won a third term in office.
After observing “irresponsible, unpredictable governance resulting in a continuing deterioration in social cohesion that risks leading the country into chaos… we have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime”, one of the soldiers said, speaking on the Gabon 24 TV channel.
There was no immediate comment from the Gabon government, the Reuters news agency reported.
The coup is coming barely after one month when military Junta in Niger Republic ousted President Mohammed Bazoum . The latest coup in Gabon makes it sevebth overall in Africa since 2019
Al Jazeera
