Navy announce coup in Gabon as senior officers seize energy after presidential election

A bunch of senior army officers have introduced a coup in Gabon following the nation’s presidential election outcome.

They appeared on the nationwide TV channel Gabon 24 declaring they have been seizing energy following President Ali Bongo’s victory.

Nearly a dozen troopers mentioned they represented all safety and defence forces within the Central African nation, including that election outcomes have been cancelled, all borders have been closed till additional discover, and state establishments dissolved.

Sounds of gunfire have been additionally reported within the Gabonese capital Libreville on Wednesday morning.

The officers mentioned: “In the name of the Gabonese people… we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime.”

Mr Bongo’s reappointment for a 3rd time period as president would have continued his household’s grip on energy of the resource-rich however poverty-hit nation – his father Omar Bongo was its president from 1967 till his dying in 2009.

Opposition teams argued the outcome was fraudulent after it was introduced Mr Bongo had gained 64% of the vote.

He had confronted an opposition coalition led by economics professor and former schooling minister Albert Ondo Ossa, whose shock nomination got here per week earlier than the vote.

There have been issues about post-election violence, as a result of deep-seated grievances among the many inhabitants of some 2.5 million. Nearly 40% of Gabonese aged 15-24 have been out of labor in 2020, in accordance with the World Bank.

Concerns in regards to the transparency of the election have included the suspension of international protection.

Internet entry was additionally curtailed. This was due to the unfold of disinformation and requires violence, the nation’s communications minister Rodrigue Bissawou mentioned.

Mr Bissawou additionally introduced a nationwide nightly curfew on state tv following the ballot.

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Every vote held in Gabon because the nation’s return to a multi-party system in 1990 has led to violence.

Clashes between authorities forces and protesters following the 2016 election killed 4 folks, in accordance with official figures, however opposition teams mentioned the true quantity killed was larger.

Another group of mutinous troopers tried a coup in January 2019, whereas Mr Bongo was in Morocco recovering from a stroke, however that rebellion was put down.