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People pose with soldiers as they celebrate in support of the putschists in a street of Libreville, Gabon.
Another day, another coup in Africa
Just hours after being declared the winner of a fraught presidential election that the opposition says was plagued by irregularities, Ali Bongo Ondimba, the president of the central African state of Gabon, was ousted in a military coup – the seventh on the African continent in just two years.
Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, Bongo’s cousin who’s closely linked to the ruling regime, says he is now the president of a transitional government.
Some key background. Bongo, 64, came to power in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who ruled the country for more than four decades. The dynasty has been accused of corruption and self-enrichment while many Gabonese are impoverished, with unemployment hovering at nearly 22%.
The oil-rich country is a member of OPEC, the cartel of oil-producing nations, but profits are overwhelmingly reaped by the elite. (Nine members of the Bongo family are currently under investigation in France for embezzlement or corruption.)
Holed up in his residence, Bongo was filmed on Wednesday asking for help, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the restoration of the constitutional order, while the African Union also condemned the coup.
African leaders are indeed worried. This comes just weeks after a coup in the West African state of Niger that’s threatened to further destabilize the entire continent (more on that here). And some analysts say that failure to hold those junta leaders accountable has sent a powerful message to wannabe putschists throughout the continent.People wait in line for the opening of a polling office during the presidential election in Libreville, Gabon, on Aug. 26, 2023.
Gabon's mystery election
We’d love to tell you all about the election results in Gabon – except we can’t, because the government’s not saying who won.
Barely two hours after opposition leader Albert Ondo Ossa called on President Ali Bongo to step down, it was announced that the internet had been cut and a nightly curfew imposed in the central African country, allegedly to “counter the spread of calls for violence ... and false information.”
Gabon's broadcasting authority also banned the French channels France 24, Radio France Internationale, and TV5Monde from the airwaves, accusing them of "a lack of objectivity and balance.”
Opposition politicians had alleged severe election irregularities, including eight-hour voting delays and the absence of Ossa’s name on ballots in some places. Bongo, who succeeded his father Omar as president in 2009 after four decades, is the scion of a family that has ruled Gabon for 56 years. He’s seeking a third term but is facing fresh challenges from a newly united opposition.