Military seizes power in Gabon

30 August, 2023 The military of Gabon, who seized power. August 2023. Gabon.

A frame from a video of the media of Gabon Gabon's military announced the seizure of power after the presidential election. The military announced this on Gabonese national television.

The coup took place shortly after the announcement of the election results, according to which President Ali Bongo was re-elected despite opposition complaints of fraud. Ali Bongo (born Alain Bernard Bongo, February 1959) was born in neighboring Congo-Brazzaville. In 1967, when he was still in elementary school, his father, Omar Bongo, took control of Gabon.

In 1973, both men converted to Islam, and Alain became Ali.

President Bongo was first elected in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who ruled the country for 41 years. Gabon is the latest former French colony in Africa to experience a coup in recent years, after Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and most recently Niger.

The coup leaders disagreed with the official election results, according to which Bongo won with about two-thirds of the vote. On Tuesday, the opposition claimed that its candidate, Albert Ondo Ossa, was the legitimate winner and also reported massive fraud. Army officials said they decided to "protect peace by ending the current regime" and added that the elections "did not meet the conditions for a transparent, credible and inclusive vote that the people of Gabon had hoped for."

After the announcement, hundreds of people took to the streets to welcome the coup.

As previously reported, Niger's military junta has allowed the armies of neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso to enter the country in case of an attack.