The soldiers declared that they were “putting an end to the present regime.”
There is news of a military coup in the Central African country of Gabon. Senior army officers have announced this on TV. He said that the election was not conducted in a credible manner. After the recently held elections, the Electoral Commission declared President Ali Bongo Ondimba the winner for the third time. He got 64.27 percent votes. While against him, the main candidate, Albert Ondo Osa, got 30.77 percent of the votes.
While announcing the election results, a soldier said that “all institutions of the republic” had been dissolved. During the announcement, AFP reporters heard gunfire in the Gabonese capital Libreville. “We have decided to defend peace by ending the current regime,” a soldier told TV channel Gabon 24, adding that “all the institutions of the republic have been dissolved: the government, the Senate, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court”. He announced the closure of the country’s borders “until further notice”.
The soldiers included members of the Republican Guard as well as regular army soldiers and police officers. The statement was also broadcast on Gabon 1 public television. During the statement, AFP journalists heard gunfire in several districts of Libreville. The announcement came as the National Electoral Authority said Bongo, who has been in power for 14 years, won Saturday’s election for a third term with 64.27 percent of the vote. According to the results, Bongo’s main rival Albert Ondo Osa got only 30.77 percent of the votes. Ondo Osa decried the “fraud perpetrated by the Bongo camp” while claiming victory before the end of the election.
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