2023-08-30 13:35:45
The military authorities of Gabon, which carried out a coup d’état and announced this Wednesday the dissolution of democratic institutions, revealed that the newly elected president is being held under house arrest.
The announcement appeared on the country’s national television, Gabon 24, in which the armed forces declared that the last elections, held on Saturday, were cancelled, after warnings by national and international authorities about electoral fraud in the country.
“President Ali Bongo is under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors”, declared the military man who read the statement, explaining that the country’s leader, elected in 2009, was arrested with one of his children for “treason”.
After noticing “an irresponsible and unpredictable governance that results in a continuous deterioration of social cohesion that runs the risk of leading the country to chaos (…) it was decided to defend peace, putting an end to the regime in force”, declared one of the soldiers.
The same military man, claiming to speak on behalf of a Transition and Institutional Restoration Committee, said that all borders in Gabon were “closed until further notice”.
According to journalists from the France-Presse news agency, during the television broadcast automatic machine gun fire was heard in Libreville.
Hours earlier, in the middle of the night, at 03:30 (same time in Angola), the Electoral Center of Gabon (CGE, in its French acronym) had released on state television, without any prior announcement, the official results of the presidential elections.
The electoral commission said President Ali Bongo Ondimba, in power for 14 years, had won a third term in Saturday’s election with 64.27% of the votes cast, defeating main rival Albert Ondo Ossa, who won 30.77%. of votes.
The announcement was made at a time when Gabon was under curfew and with internet access suspended across the country, measures imposed by the Government on Saturday, election day.
The government invoked the risk of violence, following statements by Ondo Ossa, who demanded to be declared the winner.
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