President Ali Bongo Wins Third Term Of Office, Gabon Military Takes Over Power

Gabon's military illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/US Army Africa)

JAKARTA - A group of senior Gabon military officers announced the takeover of power on national television on Wednesday morning, after the state general election announced that President Ali Bongo Ondimba's incumbent would win a third term.

Appearing on the television channel Gabon 24, the officers said they represented all security and defense forces in the Central African country.

On the occasion, they said the election results were canceled, all borders were closed until further notice and state institutions were dissolved.

The sound of gunfire was heard in the capital Libreville, a Reuters reporter said, after its appearance on television, as reported by August 30.

There has been no immediate comment from the OPEC state government. There has been no immediate report on the whereabouts of President Bongo, who was last seen in public when he voted in the election on Saturday.

"On behalf of the Gabon people, we decided to maintain peace by ending the current ruling regime," the officers said in a statement.

The soldiers introduced themselves as members of the Institution Transition and Recovery Committee. The state institutions they declared were disbanded, including the government, senate, national assembly, constitutional courts and electoral institutions.

If successful, the coup would be the eighth coup to take place in West and Central Africa since 2020, following previous coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger.

It is known that tensions escalated in Gabon amid fears of unrest following Saturday's presidential, parliamentary and legislative elections, which witnessed Bongo seek to extend the rule of his family which has lasted for 56 years.

Meanwhile, the opposition Gabon is pushing for changes in countries rich in oil and cocoa but poor and often hit by the disaster.

The lack of international observers, suspension of several overseas broadcasts, and the government's decision to cut internet services and impose national curfews after the election, have raised concerns about the transparency of the electoral process.

Gabon thwarted a military coup attempt in January 2019, after soldiers seized state radio stations and broadcast messages saying Bongo, who suffered a stroke a few months earlier, was no longer fit for office.

The situation improved again a few hours later, after two suspected coup plots were killed and others arrested.

The Gabon Election Center on Wednesday announced Bongo's victory in the election by earning 64.27 percent of the vote, ahead of challenger Albert Ondo Ossa who was in second place with 30.77 percent.

Bongo, 64, who replaced his father Omar as president in 2009, has fought against 18 challengers. Six of them support Ondo Ossa in an effort to narrow competition.

In 2016, Bongo was re-elected President Gabon. The opposition denied Bongo's two previous elections, citing fraud.