Gabon Officials Declare Military Coup, Arrest President Ali Bongo

LIBREVILLE, Aug 30 (Reuters) – Military officials in oil-producing Gabon said they had seized power on Wednesday and put President Ali Bongo under house arrest, speaking minutes after the Central African state’s electoral body announced that it had won a third term.

The officers, who said they represented the armed forces, declared on television that the results of the elections had been annulled, the borders closed and the state institutions dissolved, after a tense vote that was to prolong more than half a century in the power of the Bongo family.

One of the officers, Brice Oligui Nguema, who in a video appeared to be hailed as their leader, told French newspaper Le Monde that he and other generals would meet on Wednesday to select someone to head the transitional government.

Hundreds of people in the streets of Libreville, Gabon’s capital, celebrated the military intervention, while the African Union and France, Gabon’s former colonial ruler who has troops stationed there, condemned the coup.

If successful, the Gabon coup would be the 8th in West and Central Africa since 2020. The last one, in Niger, was in July. Military officers have also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad, erasing democratic gains since the 1990s and instilling fear among foreign powers with strategic interests in the region.

“I’m marching today because I’m happy. After almost 60 years, the Bongos are out of power,” said Jules Lebigui, an unemployed 27-year-old who joined the crowd in Libreville.

Bongo took power in 2009 after the death of his father Omar, who had ruled since 1967. Opponents say the family has done little to share the state’s oil and mining wealth with its 2.3 million people.

Violent riots broke out after Bongo’s disputed election victory in 2016 and there was a foiled coup attempt in 2019.

Gabonese officials, calling themselves the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions, said the country was facing “a serious institutional, political, economic and social crisis” and that the Aug. 26 vote was not credible.

They also said they had arrested the president’s son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, and others for corruption and treason.

The head of the Republican Guard, Nguema, told Le Monde that a leader had not been chosen but a meeting would be held on Wednesday to decide.

“Everyone will propose ideas and the best ones will be chosen, as well as the name of the person who will lead the transition,” he said.

Television footage showed a man who appeared to be Nguema held aloft by soldiers yelling “Oligui presidente,” using one of their names.

There was no immediate comment from the Gabon government and Bongo’s whereabouts could not be confirmed.

‘CONTAGION’ OF THE COUP

Bongo, 64, was last seen in public casting his ballot. on Saturday. Before the vote, she had been seen looking healthier than in her frailer TV appearances after her 2018 stroke.

Unlike Niger and other Sahel countries, Gabon, which lies further south on the Atlantic coast, has not had to fight destabilizing Islamist insurgencies. But the coup is yet another sign of democratic backsliding in the volatile region.

A “contagion of autocracy” is spreading across the continent, said Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, current president of the ECOWAS West African bloc. He said that he was working closely with other African leaders on how to respond in Gabon.

The African Union condemned the events and called on the military to guarantee the safety of Bongo and his family, while China and Russia said they hoped for a quick return to stability.

“We condemn the military coup and we remember our commitment to free and transparent elections,” French government spokesman Olivier Veran said.

The coup creates further uncertainty about France’s presence in the region. France has around 350 soldiers in Gabon. His forces have been expelled from Mali and Burkina Faso after coups there in the past two years.

French miner Eramet (ERMT.PA)which has large manganese operations in Gabon, said it had halted its operations.

Gabon produces about 200,000 barrels of oil a day, mostly from depleting fields. International companies include France’s TotalEnergies. (TTEF.PA) and the Anglo-French producer Perenco.

Concerns about the transparency of the weekend’s election were raised by a lack of international observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts and the decision to cut internet service and impose a nightly curfew after the vote. Bongo’s team denied the fraud allegations.

On Wednesday, Internet access appeared to be restored for the first time since the vote.

Shortly before the announcement of the coup, the electoral authority declared Bongo the winner of the elections with 64.27% of the votes and his main rival, Albert Ondo Ossa, had obtained 30.77%.

Gabon dollar-denominated bonds fell as high as 14 cents on Wednesday before recovering to trade down 9.5 cents on the dollar.

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