Gabon army officers announce takeover on television

Officers from Gabon's army have appeared on national televisions to announce that they have taken power and are annulling the results of Saturday's election.

The country's election body had just announced that President Ali Bongo had won a third term with 64.27 per cent of the vote. Bongo's family have ruled in Gabon for more than 50 years. Ali Bongo succeeded his father Omar as president in 2009 and won a disputed election in 2016.

The most recent election also faced criticism with the main opposition candidate Albert Ondo Ossa saying that many ballot papers did not include is name and others included names of candidates who had pulled out. Campaign group Reporters Without Borders also claimed that foreign media had been banned from entering the country to cover the vote.

Ali Bongo's current whereabouts is unknown.

As reported by Reuters, on channel Gabon 24, the officers said that all borders were closed until further notice and state institutions had been dissolved.

In their statement, the officers said: "Today the country is undergoing a severe institutional, political, economic, and social crisis.

"In the name of the Gabonese people ... we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime."

The officers said they were from the Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions and that they represented security and defence forces in the country.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said: "If this is confirmed, it is another military coup which increases instability in the whole region."

This would be the eighth coup in central and west Africa since 2020, with others taking place in Niger, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad.

Another attempted coup in Gabon in 2019 was brought to an end with two coup leaders killed and others arrested.

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