A group of senior Gabonese Army officers have appeared on national television to say they have taken over power in Gabon.
According to the soldiers, they said they were annulling the results of Saturday’s election, in which President Ali Bongo was declared the winner.
In an election the opposition argued was fraudulent, the electoral commission said Mr. Bongo had won just under two-thirds of the votes.
The Twelve Soldiers appeared on national television, announcing they were annulling the results of the election and dissolving “all the institutions of the republic”.
Speaking on TV channel Gabon 24, one of the senior military officers said, “We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime.”
This, he added, was due to “irresponsible, unpredictable governance resulting in a continuing deterioration in social cohesion that risks leading the country into chaos”.
His ouster would end his family’s 53-year hold on power in Gabon.
President Bongo came to power when his father, Omar, died in 2009.
He suffered a stroke in 2018, which sidelined him for almost a year and led to calls for him to step aside.
A failed coup attempt the following year saw mutinying soldiers sent to prison.
