World

Military announces seizure of power in Gabon and end of 56-year regime

August 30, 2023
11:15 AM

Gabonese soldiers appeared on national television on Wednesday (30) to declare they were taking power, prompting celebrations and reports of gunshots in the streets of the country’s capital, Libreville.

The announcement comes just minutes after President Ali Bongo Ondimba, also known as Ali Bongo, was declared the winner of a contested election, extending his family’s half-century rule over the Central African nation.

The officials, claiming to represent “the defense and security forces” in the country, made the announcement in a televised speech on the Gabon24 news channel. The video was seen by CNN on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“On behalf of the Gabonese people and guarantor of the protection of institutions, the CTRI (Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions) has decided to defend peace by putting an end to the regime in place,” a military official said in the broadcast.

A CNN cannot independently confirm the video and has yet to reach the government of Gabon for comment.

In the broadcast, the military said that the election results would be annulled and the country’s borders would be closed.

“All institutions of the Republic are dissolved: in particular, the government, the Senate, the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court, the Economic and Social and Environmental Council and the Electoral Council of Gabon,” said the official.

“We appeal to the people of Gabon, communities in neighboring countries living in Gabon, as well as the Gabonese diaspora, to remain calm.”

Loud sounds of gunfire could be heard in the capital Libreville, a Reuters reporter said, after the television appearance.

People in Gabon were seen dancing and celebrating in the streets of their capital, according to videos shared with the CNN and posted on social media.

In a video obtained by CNN , you can see people shouting “liberated!” and waving the Gabonese flag in the capital’s Nzeng Ayong district alongside military vehicles.

Five countries in West and Central Africa have already been taken over by military junta in the last three years, five of them former French colonies. Coups d’état in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger have undermined democratic progress in recent years.

More recently, Niger’s military junta took control of the country in late July, prompting the African Union to suspend the nation’s membership of the 55-member group. Earlier this month, the country’s military ruler proposed a return to democracy within three years, saying the principles of the transition would be decided within the next 30 days.

Bongo’s Long Reign

On Wednesday (23), Gabon’s electoral body said Bongo won the presidential election with 64.27% of the vote, as reported by Reuters, after a general election marred by delays that the opposition denounced as fraudulent.

Bongo’s main opponent, Albert Ondo Ossa, came in second with 30.77% of the vote, the electoral body said. Bongo’s team rejected Ondo Ossa’s allegations of electoral irregularities.

Ali Bongo, 64, replaced his father, Omar Bongo, who died of cardiac arrest while being treated for intestinal cancer at a Spanish clinic in 2009 after nearly 42 years in charge.

The elder Bongo came to power in 1967, seven years after the country’s independence from France.

He ruled the tiny nation with an iron fist, imposing a one-party system for years and only allowing multi-party rule in 1991. Still, his party had maintained control of the government.

Ali Bongo began his political career in 1981, serving as foreign minister and congressman from 1989 to 1991, according to the website of the Gabonese embassy in the US. He was Minister of Defense from 1999 to 2009, when he became President.

contested election

In this week’s election, Ali Bongo had 18 opponents, six of whom backed Ondo Ossa, a former minister and university professor, in an effort to narrow the race. Many in the opposition were pushing for change in the oil-rich but poverty-stricken nation of 2.3 million people.

Tensions rose amid fears of unrest after Saturday’s vote, with international observers complaining of a lack of transparency.

Before the elections, the non-profit organization Reporters Without Borders condemned the Gabonese government for obstructing foreign press coverage of the event.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday that “if (the situation in Gabon) is confirmed (which) is another military coup”, it would “increase instability across the region”.

“It is an issue that will be put on the table and we will discuss it,” Borrell told reporters ahead of an EU ministerial meeting on defense in Toledo, Spain.

“The whole area, starting with the Central African Republic, then Mali, then Burkina Faso, now Niger, maybe Gabon, is a very difficult situation,” Borrell said. “Defence ministers and foreign ministers have to think deeply about what is happening there. And how can we improve policy with these countries.”

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said her country was following the situation in Gabon “very closely”.

This is far from the first time that Gabon has seen a power struggle or unrest over Bongo’s rule, which has often been disputed by critics.

In 2016, the Parliament building was set on fire when violent street protests erupted against Bongo’s contested re-election to his second term. The government shut down internet access for several days at the time.

An attempted coup took place in 2019, when a group of soldiers and military officers stormed the state radio and television headquarters, took officials hostage and declared that they had taken control of the nation.

They cited their dissatisfaction with Bongo as president, promising to “restore democracy” in the country — before Gabon’s defense and security forces intervened to end the seizure of power and rescue the hostages. As a result, two soldiers were killed and eight military officers were arrested.