2023-08-30 15:25:23
The coup that a group of soldiers carried out today in Gabon shortly after the country’s electoral commission declared the victory of the president, Ali Bongo, in the controversial elections last Saturday is the second coup attempt in the country since January 2019 , although it was put down.
Gabon proclaimed its independence from France in 1960 and the country’s first president was León Mba, who came to office in 1961 and in 1964 endured an attempted coup that was thwarted by the intervention of French troops who came to his aid.
Mba passed away in 1967 and was succeeded by Omar Bongo.
However, the first democratic legislative elections did not come until 1991 and were marked by violence manifested in the mysterious assassination of Joseph Rendiambe, one of the main opposition leaders.
In 1991, six opposition parties formed the Coordination of the Democratic Opposition (COD), in protest at the delay in the implementation of the new Constitution. The COD also demanded the appointment of a new prime minister and the release of the state-controlled media.
After the general strike organized by the COD, Bongo announced the resignation of his Cabinet and declared his willingness to abide by the Constitution, for which a Constitutional Court and a National Communications Council were created.
On December 19, 1993, Gabon held its first democratic presidential elections, won by Bongo with 65.5% of the vote and who ran as a candidate for the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), a single party until 1990 and with French-speaking support.
These elections were not exempt from fraud that was denounced by the opposition.
Massive protests demanding social improvements took place that year, while the United States criticized Bongo after three opposition leaders were ordered to leave the country.
After the December 1998 elections and in accordance with a constitutional amendment, Bongo was elected for a period of seven years, unlike his previous term, which was for five in elections boycotted by the opposition.
The following legislatures were held in December 2001 and in them the PDG won 86 seats out of the 120 in contention.
After the announcement of the provisional results, Bongo invited his political opponents to join the tasks of the new Executive with Jean Francois Ntoutoume Emane, from the PDG, at the head, and with some members of the opposition such as Paul Mba Abessole, from the Agrupación Lumberjack National.
On July 30, 2003, the deputies of the National Assembly approved a change in the constitutional text that abolished the presidential term limit and it allowed Bongo to remain in power indefinitely.
Days before, Bongo himself presented a constitutional reform project to abolish the limitation of mandates. Bondo renewed his mandate in 2005 with 79% of the votes.
A year later, in 2006, legislative elections were held in which the PDG won the majority of the seats.
In June 2009, The history of Gabon took a turn when Omar Bongo died in a Barcelona clinic due to cancer.
He was replaced by his son Ali after elections held in August, which were denounced as fraudulent by the opposition in such a way that the candidate of the National Union (main opposition party), Andre Mba Obame, proclaimed himself president of the country in January 2011, reason why its formation was illegalized.
In December 2011, legislative elections were held, again won by the ruling party by a landslide.
The following presidential elections in August 2016 again gave Bongo victory and again the opposition denounced fraud.
The complaints sparked harshly suppressed violent protests, in which demonstrators went so far as to burn down the National Assembly.
Gabon held legislative elections in two rounds, the second in October 2018, which again gave victory to the ruling party.
On January 7, 2019, an attempted coup took place after a group of soldiers took over state radio, which was finally put down, while the president was in Rabat recovering from an illness.
After the presidential, legislative and municipal elections were held on August 26, 2023, taking place amid opposition complaints of fraud by the government party, the authorities cut off the internet connection and imposed a curfew.
The situation worsened on August 30 after a group of soldiers announced that they had seized power following the decision of the country’s electoral commission to declare Bongo the winner of the elections.
The military assured that these votes were not transparent, credible or inclusive.
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