Libreville
Just hours after Gabon’s electoral commission announced that President Ali Bongo Ondimba had secured a third term in office after winning the August 26 election, the Central African nation’s mlitary on Wednesday claimed to have taken over after dissolving state institutions and cancelling the poll result.
In a video message, a group of senior Gabonese officers announced that they had seized power and also closed the country’s borders until further notice.
In the name of the Gabonese people we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime, the senior military officers said on national television after the results were announced.
Meanwhile, internet has been restored in Gabon after the government had cut off accessand imposed a curfew after the end of voting.
The government had said the move was necessary to prevent the spread of misinformation and outbreak of violence.
Ondimba’s overthrow would end his family’s 53-year hold on power in Gabon. As in the previous general elections in Gabon, there were serious concerns about the process in the August 26 vote.
As polls closed, the government announced a curfew and suspension of internet access for security reasons. Ondimba came to power when his father Omar died in 2009.
In 2018, he suffered a stroke which sidelined him for almost a year and led to calls for him to step aside. The following year, a failed coup attempt saw mutinying soldiers sent to prison.
