Coup in Gabon: a few minutes after the announcement of the election results, the military announces the seizure of power and the cancellation of the elections
On Wednesday, a group of a dozen Gabonese soldiers announced, in a statement read on the presidency's Gabon 24 television channel, the cancellation of the elections and the dissolution of "all the institutions of the Republic". The election results had just been announced, with outgoing president Ali Bongo winning 64.27% of the votes.
After having observed "an irresponsible and unpredictable government which results in a continuous deterioration of social cohesion which threatens to lead the country to chaos (…) we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime", declared one of these soldiers who claim to speak on behalf of a “Committee on Transition and Institutional Restoration”. During this statement, AFP reporters heard automatic gunfire in Libreville.
Shots of automatic weapons were heard in Libreville and the military announced the closure of the borders "until further notice".
It was only minutes after Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba, in power for 14 years, announced he would win a third term in Saturday's elections with 64.27 percent of the votes cast, he announced Wednesday (August 30). the national electoral authority.
Ali Bongo defeated, in a single round, his main rival Albert Ondo Ossa, who obtained only 30.77% of the vote, as well as 12 other candidates who collected only crumbs, explained the president of the Gabonese Electoral Center (CGE), Michel Stéphane Bonda, broadcast on state television Gabon 1ère.
Now the situation is similar to that of Niger, with the military appearing to have taken power and a president in their hands. The emulation effect is evident in the countries of French-speaking Africa, where the extreme weakness of France and the USA invites those with military power to directly assume political responsibilities.
Gabon is not new to these political-military upheavals. Already in 2021 there had been an attempted coup that ended with the arrest of rebel troops and complete repression.
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The article Coup in Gabon: a few minutes after the announcement of the election results, the military announce the seizure of power and the cancellation of the elections comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/golpe-in-gabon-pochi-minuti-dopo-lannuncio-dei-risultati-elettorali-i-militari-annunciano-la-presa-del-potere-e-lannullamento-delle-elezioni/ on Wed, 30 Aug 2023 05:28:15 +0000.