Gabon coup news: Military claims to seize power after Ali Bongo wins disputed presidential election

If successful, the 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.

Niger and other Sahel countries have been battling Islamist insurgencies that have eroded faith in democratic governments.

Gabon, which lies further south on the Atlantic coast, is not facing the same challenges, but a coup would suggest a further sign of democratic backsliding in a volatile region.

Loud gunfire was reported across the Gabonese capital Libreville in the early hours of Wednesday.

Around 12 Gabonese soldiers took over a television channel’s broadcast to announce that they were dissolving “all the institutions of the republic” and said they represented all security and defence forces in Gabon.

Senior military officers appeared on Gabon national television to announce a coup following the country’s presidential election in the early hours of Wednesday, Holly Patrick reports.

Soldiers spoke on Gabon 24 minutes after the state election body announced president Ali Bongo won a third term, declaring that they represented all security and defence forces in the Central African nation.

Officers claimed that election results were cancelled, all borders closed until further notice, and state institutions dissolved.

Bongo’s team rejected allegations of fraud by Albert Ondo Ossam, who came in second place, and his opposition alliance after a vote marred by numerous polling stations opening several hours late.

The Gabonese Election Centre said earlier on Wednesday that Bongo won the election with 64.27 per cent of the vote and his main challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa, had come in second with 30.77 per cent

Bongo, 64, succeeded his father Omar as president in 2009 and was re-elected in a disputed election in 2016.

The government said a web blackout and curfew were necessary to prevent the spread of fake news and to protect public safety. The state had also shut down the internet for several days after Bongo’s 2016 election win, which provoked violent protests that saw the parliament building torched.

Gabon foiled an attempted military coup in January 2019 after soldiers briefly seized the state radio station and broadcast a message saying Bongo, who had suffered a stroke months earlier, was no longer fit for office.