In a major change, another African nation reportedly fell into the junta regime after Gabonese military officers announced on TV the cancellation of elections and dissolution of institutions, claiming they had taken power.
This came barely minutes after Gabon’s President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has been in power for 14 years now, was re-elected for a third term in Saturday’s election. The National Election Commission announced on Wednesday that the president received nearly 64.27 percent of the votes cast. The government had already put a clamp on the internet in the African nation on Monday amid concerns over delays in the release of the results of national elections held over the weekend.
Incumbent President Ali Bongo sought reelection for a third term against his main challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa.
A similar attempt happened in 2019.
It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time the country has witnessed such a dramatic event. Earlier on January 9, 2019, soldiers in Gabon appeared on state television and announced that they launched a coup to “restore democracy” in the West African country.
At that time, Lieutenant Obiang Ondo Kelly, commander of the Republican Guard, read a statement saying the military wanted to seize control of the government. He was pointed out by two other soldiers holding weapons, and all were dressed in camouflage uniforms and green berets.
Oil-rich Gabon and his family have been ruled for more than half a century by Bongo and his father, Omar, who died in 2009. Critics have accused the family of profiting from the country’s natural resources while not investing enough in basic services for its population of more than 2 million.