A group of high-ranking military officers has declared a coup in Gabon following the outcome of the country’s presidential election. The officers appeared on Gabon’s national TV channel, Gabon 24, asserting their takeover of power in response to President Ali Bongo’s declared victory.
Amid reports of gunfire in the capital, Libreville, around a dozen soldiers announced that they were representing all security and defense forces within the Central African nation. They declared the cancellation of election results, the closure of borders until further notice, and the dissolution of state institutions.
The officers stated, “In the name of the Gabonese people… we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime.”
President Ali Bongo’s re-election for a third term would have prolonged his family’s hold on authority in the resource-rich yet impoverished nation. His father, Omar Bongo, held the presidency from 1967 until his passing in 2009.
Opposition groups contested the legitimacy of the election outcome after it was announced that Bongo secured 64% of the vote. The election witnessed an opposition coalition led by economics professor and former education minister Albert Ondo Ossa, whose surprise nomination emerged a week before the vote.
Deep-seated grievances among the population of approximately 2.5 million raised concerns about potential post-election violence. The World Bank reported that nearly 40% of Gabonese aged 15-24 were unemployed in 2020.
The transparency of the election came into question due to the suspension of foreign media coverage and curtailment of internet access. The latter measure aimed to counter the spread of disinformation and calls for violence. The communications minister, Rodrigue Bissawou, announced a nationwide nightly curfew on state television after the election.
Gabon’s history of multi-party elections since its return to such a system in 1990 has been marked by violence. Clashes between government forces and protesters following the 2016 election resulted in four reported deaths, though opposition groups claimed the actual toll was higher.
In a previous instance in January 2019, another group of mutinous soldiers attempted a coup while President Ali Bongo was in Morocco recuperating from a stroke. However, this uprising was swiftly suppressed.
