Africa News
BREAKING: Gabon Soldiers Seize Power After Reelection Of Ali Bongo
Army officers have appeared on national television in Gabon to say they have taken power.
They said they were annulling the results of Saturday’s election, in which President Ali Bongo was declared the winner.
The electoral commission said Mr Bongo had won just under two-thirds of the votes in an election the opposition argued was fraudulent.
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Claiming to represent all of Gabon’s security and defense forces, the officers declared the dissolution of “all the institutions of the republic.”
They cited “irresponsible, unpredictable governance” leading to a deteriorating social climate as the reason for their intervention, aiming to restore peace by ending the current regime. The announcement on the Gabon 24 TV channel was made on behalf of a group calling itself the “Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions.”
His overthrow would end his family’s 53-year hold on power in Gabon.
President Ali Bongo was running for a third term.