Gabonese military officers declare coup on national.
Seizure of power announced on television, cancelling election results that gave president third term in office.
Military officers in Gabon say they have taken power and put the president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, under house arrest, as the country becomes the latest in Africa to suffer an attempted coup, only weeks after mutinous troops seized power in Niger.
A group of military personnel appeared on state television to announce they were seizing power to overturn the results of a presidential election, seeking to remove a president whose family has held power for nearly 56 years. The officers introduced themselves as members of the Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions.
If successful, the coup would be the eighth in west and central Africa since 2020. The most recent one, in Niger, was in July, while the military has also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad.
The officers said they represented all Gabonese security and defence forces and announced the election results were cancelled, all borders were closed until further notice and state institutions dissolved.
“Today the country is undergoing a severe institutional, political, economic, and social crisis,” the officers said in a statement, saying the 26 August election lacked transparency and credibility. “In the name of the Gabonese people … we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime.”
The coup attempt came hours after Bongo, 64, was declared winner of an election marred by fears of violence. He was last seen in public casting his vote on Saturday.
Gabon is a member of the Opec oil cartel, with a production of 181,000 barrels of crude a day, making it the eighth-largest producer of oil in sub-Saharan Africa. It is home to more than 2 million people, and is slightly smaller than the US state of Colorado.
Unlike Niger and two other west African countries run by military juntas, Gabon has not been afflicted by jihadi violence and had been seen as relatively stable. But nearly 40% of Gabonese aged 15-24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank.
The French prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, said France, Gabon’s former colonial ruler, was following the situation closely.
Before Wednesday’s dramatic announcement, Bongo’s spell in office was marked by disputed elections and a stroke that spurred rumours about his fitness for office and fuelled a minor attempted coup.
Niger and other Sahel countries have been fighting Islamist insurgencies that have eroded faith in democratic governments. Gabon, which lies further south on the Atlantic coast, is not facing the same challenges, but a coup would suggest another sign of democratic backsliding in a volatile region.
Viviane Mbou, a shopkeeper, offered the soldiers juice, which they declined. And Jordy Dikaba, a young man walking with his friends on a street lined with armoured policemen, said: “Long live our army.”
There was no word from the president, and his whereabouts were not immediately clear.
The military intended to “dissolve all institutions of the republic”, said a spokesperson for the group, whose members were drawn from the gendarme, the republican guard and other parts of the security forces.
The French mining company Eramet said it was ceasing all operations in Gabon, and was implementing procedures to ensure the safety of its staff and facilities. The company’s subsidiaries in Gabon operate the world’s largest manganese mine and a rail transport company.
The private intelligence firm Ambrey said all operations at Gabon’s main port in Libreville had been halted, with authorities refusing to grant permission for vessels to leave.
One morning flight at Libreville’s Léon-Mba international airport had already been delayed early on Wednesday morning. A man who answered a number listed for the airport told Associated Press that flights were cancelled on Wednesday.
The coup attempt came about a month after mutinous soldiers in Niger seized power from the democratically elected government, and is the latest in a series of coups that have challenged governments with ties to France.
Bongo, in his annual Independence Day speech on 17 August, said: “While our continent has been shaken in recent weeks by violent crises, rest assured that I will never allow you and our country, Gabon, to be hostages to attempts at destabilisation. Never.”
In his speech, Bongo acknowledged the widespread frustration over rising costs of living, and listed measures his government was taking to contain fuel prices, make education more affordable, and stabilise the price of baguettes.
At a time when anti-France sentiment is spreading in many former colonies, the French-educated Bongo met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris in late June and shared photos of them shaking hands.
France has 400 military personnel in Gabon leading a regional military training operation. They have not changed their normal operations, according to the French military.
The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, asked about Gabon on Wednesday, said European ministers would discuss the situation this week. “If this is confirmed, it’s another military coup, which increases instability in the whole region,” he said.
This video grab taken from Gabon 24 shows Gabonese soldiers appearing on television on August 30, 2023 announcing they were “putting an end to the current regime” and the cancellation of an election that, according to official results, President Ali Bongo Ondimba won. – During the announcement, AFP journalists heard gunfire ring out in the Gabonese capital, Libreville. While announcing the cancellation of the results one of the soldiers announced the dissolution of “all the institutions of the republic”. “We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime”, one of the soldiers said on TV channel Gabon 24, adding that he was speaking on behalf of the “Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions”. “To this end, the general elections of 26 August 2023 and the truncated results are cancelled,” he added. “All the institutions of the republic are dissolved: the government, the Senate, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court,” he added, announcing the closure of the country’s borders “until further notice”. Among the soldiers were members of the Republican Guard as well as soldiers of the regular army and police officers.
Coup:Why We Sack President Ali Bongo-Gabonese Army
Gabonese army officers under the aegis of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions on Wednesday morning announced on national television why they are taking over power from President Ali Bongo in the country.
The soldiers highlighted serious institutional, political, economic and social crises as factors responsible for the coup that they tagged, ‘necessary’ for the progress of the West African country.
In a nationwide address rendered in French but translated to English by AFP, the junta said, “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 August 26, 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 the 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.
The junta resolved that all of the institutions of the country be dissolved including the Federal Government, the Senate, the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court, the Economic, Social and Environmental Council and the Gabonese Elections Centre.
They therefore called 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.”
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