Senior military leaders from Gabon have announced their control over the country on national television, claiming that the most recent election was invalid and speaking for the entire nation’s security and armed forces.
They asserted that all borders had been permanently closed, all state institutions had been abolished, and the election results had been thrown out.
A Reuters correspondent reported hearing gunfire after the television appearance in the nation’s capital, Libreville.
“In the name of the Gabonese people … we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime,” the officers said on television.
The Gabonese electoral center reported on Wednesday that Ali Bongo, the country’s current president, received 64.27% of the vote to win a third term in office. This happened following a general election that was hampered by problems and denounced as fraudulent by the opposition.
Following the military takeover, local residents in Gabon seem happy about the current situation as they came out in their numbers to greet and applaud the soldiers to overthrowing Bongo’s regime.
Local residents joyfully greet the military in Gabon, who last night staged a military coup in the country. pic.twitter.com/kCEhFywTXI
— Sprinter (@Sprinter99800) August 30, 2023
Breaking News: Gabonese are on the streets in support of the Gabon Military coup.
If the people want it, then they should have it.
Freedom At Last!
.
.Peter Obi• #bubagirl #snapchat Max Air•Mercy Eke•Yes daddy• #Esther #xweek #viralvideo Opay, Cameroon, Hushpuppi, Angel pic.twitter.com/nsK42RIoxl
— Lawrence I. Okoro ( Sir Law ) (@LawrenceOkoroPG) August 30, 2023
The military coup in 🇬🇦 Gabon is gaining HUGE amounts of support from locals. pic.twitter.com/dROOOjuEJU
— Rev Laskaris (@REVMAXXING) August 30, 2023
Early in the morning, election chief Michel Stephane Bonda announced that Albert Ondo Ossa, Bongo’s main opponent, had received 30.77% of the vote. The allegations of electoral fraud made by Ondo Ossa were refuted by Bongo’s team.
Tensions were high and there were fears of unrest following Saturday’s presidential, parliamentary, and legislative elections, in which Bongo sought to keep his family in power after 56 years and the opposition pushed for change in the oil- and cocoa-rich but impoverished nation.
The lack of foreign observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts, the decision by the authorities to cut off internet connectivity and impose a nighttime curfew following the election all raised questions about the integrity of the election.
The group has named members of the “committee of transition and the restoration of institutions.” They dissolved a number of state institutions, including the government, senate, national assembly, constitutional court, and election body.
