A group of senior military officers in Gabon said they had seized power in the early hours of Wednesday, minutes after the Central African state’s election body announced that President Ali Bongo had won a third term. Several foreign powers, including the United States, the UK and France, condemned what appeared to be the eighth military coup in West and Central Africa since 2020. Follow FRANCE 24’s liveblog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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- A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on the Gabon 24 TV station early Wednesday and announced the cancellation of the August 26 presidential election, the “end of the regime” and the dissolution of “all institutions of the Republic”.
- The statement came shortly after the results of the presidential election were declared, giving President Ali Bongo 64.2% of the vote and a third term in office.
- Hours later, President Ali Bongo appeared in a video and called on his “friends” to “make noise”. Bongo said he was under house arrest at his residence and that his wife and son were in different places.
- On Wednesday evening, mutinous military officers declared General Brice Oligui Nguema the country’s transitional leader in a statement broadcast on Gabon 24.
- A night-time curfew imposed after the August 26 election has been extended until further notice.
- French media channels France 24, RFI and TV5 Monde, which were suspended in the wake of a tumultuous election period, will resume transmission, said the mutinous soldiers on national TV.
4:31am: US urges Gabon military to ‘preserve civilian rule’
The United States late Wednesday urged Gabon’s military to preserve civilian rule, voicing concern after coup leaders ousted the entrenched president following disputed elections.
“We urge those responsible to release and…
