Gabonese soldiers suspend elections and close borders after declaring Bongo the winner

• appear on Gabon 24 the television The officers said they represent all security and defense forces in the central African country.
• The soldiers said that the election results that gave incumbent President Bongo victory have been completely annulled the border It was closed until further notice and state institutions dissolved.
• Gabon voted today, Saturday, in the presidential, parliamentary and legislative elections, in which Bongo and Ondo-Ossa led race Among the 14 candidates vying for the top position.

6:22 am: Gunfire is heard in the capital, Libreville

Reuters and Agence France-Presse correspondents said following the army officers’ television announcement that loud gunfire could be heard in Gabon’s capital, Libreville.

Tensions were running high and there were concerns about that unrest After Saturday’s election, which saw Bongo seek to extend his family’s 56-year grip on power, while the opposition pressed for change in the oil- and cocoa-rich but impoverished country.

The absence of international observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts — including France 24 and sister Radio France International — and the authorities’ decision to cut internet service and impose a nationwide nighttime curfew after the election raised transparency concerns. from the electoral process.

There was no immediate comment from Government of the OPEC+ member countries.

6:18 am: Soldiers announce in a televised speech the dissolution of state institutions

appear on Gabon 24 the television The officers said they represent all security and defense forces in the central African country. They said that the election results were cancelled, all of them the border Closed until further notice and dissolution of state institutions.

“In the name of the Gabonese people…we have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime,” the officers said.

One of the soldiers added that “all the republic’s institutions” had been dissolved.

“We have decided to defend the peace by ending the current regime,” said one of the soldiers, adding that he was speaking on behalf of the “Transition and Institutional Restoration Committee.”

“To this end, the general elections scheduled for August 26, 2023 and their truncated results have been cancelled,” he added.

He added, “All institutions of the republic are being dissolved: the government, the Senate, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court,” announcing the closure of the country’s borders “until further notice.”

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AFP and Associated Press)