Gabonese military officers declared they had seized power on Wednesday, putting President Ali Bongo under house arrest and appointing a new leader after the state’s election board declared Bongo the winner of a third term.
The officers, claiming to speak for the military, announced on television the annulment of the election, the closure of the borders, and the dissolution of state institutions following the election that gave the Bongo family power for more than half a century.
Hours later, another televised address announced that the generals had convened and unanimously selected the former head of the presidential guard, General Brice Oligui Nguema, to lead the transition.
While being held in his home, Bongo released a video statement pleading for international intervention on his and his family’s behalf. He claimed to be unaware of the situation.
The situation in which Bongo found himself on Wednesday morning was a dramatic reversal from the day before, when the electoral commission had declared him the winner of Saturday’s contested vote.
It is the eighth military takeover in West and Central Africa since 2020 and the second in a few months, after Niger. Officers from the armed forces have also taken control in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Chad, rolling back democratic gains made in the 1990s and causing concern among countries with strategic interests in the region.