DAKAR, Senegal — Mutinous squaddies in Gabon mentioned Wednesday they had been overturning the result of a presidential election that used to be to increase the Bongo circle of relatives’s 55-year dangle on power.
The central African nation’s election committee introduced that President Ali Bongo Ondimba, 64, had received the election with 64% of the vote early Wednesday morning. Within mins, gunfire used to be heard in the middle of the capital, Libreville.
A dozen uniformed squaddies gave the impression on state tv later the identical morning and introduced that they’d seized power.
The squaddies supposed to “dissolve all institutions of the republic,” mentioned a spokesman for the crew, whose individuals had been drawn from the gendarme, the republican guard and different parts of the safety forces.
The coup try happened one month after mutinous squaddies in Niger seized power from the democratically elected executive, and is the newest in a chain of coups that experience challenged governments with ties to France, the area’s former colonizer.
Unlike Niger and two different West African nations run through military juntas, Gabon hasn’t been wracked through jihadi violence and were observed as rather strong.
In his annual Independence Day speech Aug. 17, Bongo mentioned “While our continent has been shaken in recent weeks by violent crises, rest assured that I will never allow you and our country Gabon to be hostages to attempts at destabilization. Never.”
At a time when anti-France sentiment is spreading in lots of former colonies, the French-educated Bongo met President Emmanuel Macron in Paris in past due June and shared pictures of them shaking arms.
The coup’s leaders vowed to recognize “Gabon’s commitments to the national and international community.”
Bongo used to be in the hunt for a 3rd time period in elections this weekend. He served two phrases since coming to power in 2009 after the demise of his father, Omar Bongo, who dominated the nation for 41 years. Another crew of mutinous squaddies tried a coup in January 2019, whilst Bongo used to be in Morocco convalescing from a stroke, however they had been temporarily overpowered.
In the election, Bongo confronted an opposition coalition led through economics professor and previous schooling minister Albert Ondo Ossa, whose marvel nomination got here per week earlier than the vote.
There had been issues about post-election violence, because of deep-seated grievances amongst the inhabitants of a few 2.5 million. Nearly 40% of Gabonese ages 15-24 had been out of labor in 2020, consistent with the World Bank.
After remaining week’s vote, the Central African country’s Communications Minister, Rodrigue Mboumba Bissawou, introduced a nightly curfew from 7 p.m. to six a.m., and mentioned web get right of entry to used to be being limited indefinitely to quell disinformation and requires violence.
Every vote held in Gabon since the nation’s go back to a multi-party machine in 1990 has resulted in violence. Clashes between executive forces and protesters following the 2016 election killed 4 folks, consistent with legit figures. The opposition mentioned the demise toll used to be a ways upper.
Fearing violence, many of us in the capital went to talk over with circle of relatives in different portions of the nation earlier than the election or left Gabon altogether. Others stockpiled meals or strengthened safety of their houses.
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Associated Press newshounds Cara Anna in Nairobi, Kenya; and Jamey Keaton in Geneva contributed.
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