Gabonese national army have announced the cancellation of recent election results and the dissolution of “all the institutions of the republic” signalling a takeover of power.
The apparent coup follows shortly after the national election authority’s announcement on Wednesday that Gabon’s President Ali Bongo Ondimba had been re-elected for a third term.
Soldier appearing on TV channel Gabon 24 says, “We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime”.
Gunfire is reported in the Gabonese capital, Libreville, according to media reports.
President Ali Bongo, who has served two consecutive seven-year terms, was standing for a third.
Bongo was the candidate for the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), the party founded by his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled with an iron fist from 1967 to 2009. After his death, his son, then the defence minister, took his place as president and has ruled ever since.
Gabon’s political opposition branded the election a “fraud orchestrated by Ali Bongo and his supporters”.
Indeed, for many people who have not known another leader outside the Bongo family, there is talk of a need for change.
With an oil-based economy, Gabon has long been seen as a country with great economic potential, but it has been plagued by endemic corruption.