Rebel officers in Gabon announced Wednesday they had seized power following disputed elections in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose family has ruled the oil-rich state for more than 55 years, had been declared winner. “Today, the country is going through a serious institutional, political, economic and social crisis,” according to the statement read on state TV. The coup announcement came just moments after the national election authority declared Bongo had won a third term in Saturday’s election with 64.27 percent of the vote. Gabon’s 2016 elections were marked by deadly violence after Bongo edged out rival Jean Ping by just 5,500 votes, according to the official tally. In 2018, Bongo suffered a stroke that sidelined him for 10 months and fuelled accusations that he was medically unfit to hold office.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 30, 2023 18:40 UTC