Africa in turmoil again! The military’s sudden action has ousted the President of Gabon, shaking the nation to its core. A group of military officers have seized power in Gabon barely four days after the re-election of President Ali Bongo, who was recently declared winner of the Saturday’s presidential election in the country.
The junta said they removed the President because the election was not credible. Ali Bongo, who has been in power since 2009 following the death of his father was declared the winner of the election for his third term in office.
According to Aljazeera, the junta appeared on national TV, Gabon24 to announce the annulment of the election in the early hours of Wednesday, August 30, 2023.
Announcing the removal of the President, the junta said, “In the name of the Gabonese people … we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime.”
The Bongo family has ruled Gabon for 56 years. This is coming one month after the removal of a democratically elected president in Niger Republic.
The junta later announced that General Brice Oligui Nguema would act as a transitional leader. Speaking on national television surrounded by fellow soldiers on Wednesday evening, a spokesman for the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI) said that Oligui had been “unanimously” designated as “president of the transition.”
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