IN SUMMARY
- Mr Bongo came to power when his father Omar died in 2009
- State election body said President Ali Bongo Ondimba had won a third term
A group of senior military officers on national television in Gabon say they have seized power because elections held over the weekend were not credible.
The officers, appearing on Gabon 24 early Wednesday morning, said they had cancelled the elections dissolved all state institutions and closed the country’s borders.
This comes after the state election body said President Ali Bongo Ondimba had won a third term in office in Saturdays disputed Election
“In the name of the Gabonese people … we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime,” the officers said.
The Gabonese Election Centre said Bongo had secured 64.27 percent of the vote compared with 30.77 percent for his main challenger Albert Ondo Ossa.
The electoral commission said Mr Bongo had won just under two-thirds of the votes in an election the opposition argued was fraudulent.
His overthrow would end his family’s 53-year hold on power in Gabon.
Mr Bongo came to power when his father Omar died in 2009.
In 2018, he suffered a stroke which sidelined him for almost a year and led to calls for him to step aside.
The following year, a failed coup attempt saw mutinying soldiers sent to prison.
More updates to follow
