Military officers take power in Gabon days after president wins 3rd term in disputed election

Military officers in oil-producing Gabon said they had seized power on Wednesday and put President Ali Bongo under house arrest, stepping in minutes after the Central African state’s election body announced he had won a third term.

The officers, who said they represented the armed forces, declared on television that the election results were cancelled, borders closed and state institutions dissolved, after a tense vote that was set to extend the Bongo family’s more than half century in power.

The Gabon junta named Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema as transition leader, soldiers said on national television.

Hundreds of people in the streets of the Gabonese capital Libreville celebrated the military’s intervention, while the African Union and France, Gabon’s former colonial ruler which has troops stationed there, condemned the coup.

If successful, the Gabon coup would be the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020. The latest one, in Niger, was in July. Military officers have also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad, erasing democratic gains since the 1990s and raising fear among foreign powers that have strategic interests in the region.

“I am marching today because I am joyful. After almost 60 years, the Bongos are out of power,” said Jules Lebigui, a jobless 27-year-old who joined crowds in Libreville.

Bongo took over in 2009 on the death of his father Omar, who had ruled since 1967. Opponents say the family has done little to share the state’s oil and mining wealth with its 2.3 million people.

Violent unrest broke out after Bongo’s disputed 2016 election victory and there was a foiled coup attempt in 2019.

WATCH | Hundreds of people take to the streets of Gabon’s capital to celebrate coup: Elation in streets of Gabon as military declares coupMutinous soldiers claimed to have seized power in Gabon on Wednesday and put the president under house arrest. Hundreds of people took to the streets of the capital to celebrate, while France condemned the coup attempt.

The Gabon officers, calling themselves The Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions, said the country faced “a severe institutional, political, economic, and social crisis,” and that the Aug. 26 vote was not credible.

They also said they had arrested the president’s son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, and others for corruption and treason.

This screen grab from a video shows the spokesperson for the mutinous soldiers speaking on state television as they announce that they had seized power in Libreville, Gabon on Wednesday. (GABON 24/The Associated Press)

Republican Guard chief Nguema told Le Monde a leader had not been chosen but a meeting would be held on Wednesday to decide.

“Everyone will put forward ideas and the best ones will be chosen, as well as the name of the person who will lead the transition,” he said.

Television images showed a man who appeared to be Nguema held aloft by soldiers shouting “Oligui president,” using one of his names.

There was no immediate comment from Gabon’s government, and Bongo’s whereabouts could not be confirmed.

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Front Burner30:50Niger, and an era of mutiny in Africa’s Sahel region

Bongo, 64, was last seen in public casting his vote on Saturday. Before the vote, he had been seen looking healthier than his more frail television appearances after his 2018 stroke.

Unlike Niger and other Sahel countries, Gabon, which lies further south on the Atlantic coast, has not had to battle destabilizing Islamist insurgencies. But the coup is a further sign of democratic backsliding in the volatile region.

A “contagion of autocracy” is spreading across the continent, said Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, the current chair of West African bloc ECOWAS. He said he was working closely with other African leaders on how to respond in Gabon.

Residents applaud members of the security forces in the Plein Ciel district of Libreville on Wednesday, soon after a group of Gabonese military officers appeared on television announcing they were ending the Bongo regime and scrapping official results from an election held last weekend. (AFP/Getty Images)

The African Union condemned the events and called on the military to ensure the safety of Bongo and his family, while China and Russia said they hoped for a swift return to stability.

“We condemn the military coup and recall our commitment to free and transparent elections,” French government spokesman Olivier Veran said.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also condemned the coup and called on all involved to “to exercise restraint, engage in an inclusive and meaningful dialogue, and ensure that the rule of law and human rights are fully respected,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

“He also calls on the national army and security forces to guarantee the physical integrity of the president of the republic and his family,” Dujarric said.

The coup creates more uncertainty for France’s presence in the region. France has about 350 troops in Gabon. Its forces have been kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso after coups there in the last two years.

This video grab shows Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba sitting in his residence in the capital, Libreville, on Wednesday. (BTP advisers on behalf of the President’s Office/The Associated Press)

French miner Eramet, which has large manganese operations in Gabon, said it had halted operations.

Gabon produces about 200,000 barrels of oil a day, mainly from depleting fields. International companies include France’s TotalEnergies and Anglo-French producer Perenco.

Concerns about the weekend election’s transparency were raised by a lack of international observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts and a decision to cut internet service and impose a night-time curfew after the vote. Bongo’s team rejected allegations of fraud.

On Wednesday, internet access appeared to be restored for the first time since the vote.

Shortly before the coup announcement, the election authority declared Bongo the election winner with 64.27 per cent of the vote and said his main challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa, had secured 30.77 per cent.

WATCH | Under house arrest, president pleads for help: Gabon military coup is the 8th African coup in the last 3 yearsGabonese military officers announced they have taken over the central African country. It is the eighth coup in west or central Africa in the last three years, which came just days after a disputed election that international monitors and journalists had been barred from observing.