Gabon Military Officers Declares Coup, Takes Over Power After Ali Bongo’s Third Term Re-Election [Video]

Military officers on Wednesday declared a coup in Gabon after President Ali Bongo was re-elected to a third term in office in the Central African nation.

Gabonese Senior military officers appeared on national TV on Wednesday, August 30, announcing that they had taken control because they believed the general election was not fair.

The officers, who claimed to represent all of Gabon’s security and defense forces, said that they were canceling the results of the Saturday election, which the opposition had criticized as being “fraudulent”.

Twelve soldiers appeared on television to announce that they were dissolving “all the institutions of the republic”.

“We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime,” one of the soldiers was quoted as saying on TV channel Gabon 24.

The soldier cited “irresponsible, unpredictable governance resulting in a continuing deterioration in social cohesion that risks leading the country into chaos”.

The Gabonese Election Centre (CGE) declared Ali Bongo the winner of the election on Wednesday with 64.27% of the votes cast.

Michel Bonda, the head of CGE, said Bongo’s main opponent, Albert Ossa, came second with 30.77%.

Ossa complained that many polling stations lacked ballot papers bearing his name, while the coalition he represents said the names of some of those who had withdrawn from the presidential race had still been on the ballot sheet.

Bongo’s team denied Ossa’s claims of election fraud and irregularities.

The situation in Gabon has been tense, with concerns of unrest after the presidential and parliamentary elections.

Ali Bongo’s overthrow would end his family’s 53-year rule. He became president in 2009 when his father Omar passed away.

Bongo, 64, suffered a stroke in 2018 that kept him away from his duties for nearly a year and led to calls for him to step down.

In 2019, there was an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Bongo. The soldiers involved in the failed coup were sent to prison.

Watch the video below:

Gabon coup comes barely one month after the government of President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger Republic was also been toppled by military officers in the country.