In a broadcast, some military officers in Gabon announced on Wednesday they had seized power in the African nation, according to a televised address circulating on social media.
The announcement came minutes after Gabon’s election body announced incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba had won a third term, extending his family’s half-century rule over the oil-rich West-Central African country of 2.3 million.
Gabon is a country at the Equator in West-Central Africa bordering the Atlantic Ocean in the west and also bordered by Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, and the Republic of the Congo.
Only two autocratic presidents have ruled Gabon since independence from France in 1960. Gabon’s former President, El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba, one of the longest-serving heads of state in the world, died in 2009. New elections brought Ali Bongo Ondimba, son of the former president, to power.
The soldiers who introduced themselves as members of the CTRI (The Committee of Transition and Restoration of Institutions), said they were annulling the results of Saturday’s election, in which President Ali Bongo was declared the winner. They also dissolved all institutions.
Read their full statement below:
“Our beautiful country, Gabon, has always been a haven of peace.
“Today, the country is going through a serious institutional, political, economic and social crisis.
“We are therefore forced to admit that the organisation of the general elections of 26 August 2023 did not meet the conditions for a transparent, credible and inclusive ballot so much hoped for by the people of Gabon.
“Added to this is irresponsible and unpredictable governance, resulting in a continuing deterioration in social cohesion, with the risk of leading the country into chaos.
“Today, 30 August 2023, we — the defence and security forces, gathered as the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI) on behalf of the people of Gabon and as guarantors of the institutions’ protection — have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime.
“To this end, the general elections of 26 August 2023 and the truncated results are cancelled.
“The borders are closed until further notice.
“All the institutions of the Republic are dissolved: the government, the Senate, the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court, the Economic, Social and Environmental Council and the Gabonese Elections Centre.
“We call for calm and serenity from the public, the communities of sister countries settled in Gabon, and the Gabonese diaspora.
“We reaffirm our commitment to respecting Gabon’s commitments to the national and international community.
“People of Gabon, we are finally on the road to happiness.
“May God and the spirits of our ancestors bless Gabon. Honour and loyalty to our homeland.
“Thank you.”
(Photo: AFP)