Gabonese military declare coup, put President Bongo under house arrest

LIBREVILLE -- The Gabonese military have canceled presidential election results and dissolved state institutions, officers said Wednesday, claiming that they have taken power and put President Ali Bongo under house arrest.

In a televised statement, a group of senior Gabonese officers said they seized power after Bongo, the incumbent president, was announced to be re-elected in a contested election. The election results were canceled, state institutions dissolved, and all borders closed until further notice, they said.

Gabon's national electoral body said earlier in the day that Bongo from the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party was re-elected for a third term in Saturday's election. However, the officers said the election was not credible.

According to local media, gunfire was heard in the capital Libreville.

"In the name of the Gabonese people ... we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime," the officers said on national television. They read a statement on behalf of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions.

"All the institutions of the republic are dissolved, in particular the government, the Senate, the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court, the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, the Gabonese Center for Elections," read the statement.

Ali Bongo, 64, once served as minister of defense and other posts in the government. He was elected president of the Gabonese Republic in 2009 and was re-elected in 2016.

In another statement released Wednesday, the military said, "President Ali Bongo is kept under house arrest, surrounded by his family and his doctors."

The officers said the son of the president, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, and several other senior officials close to Bongo were arrested.

In a video clip released on Wednesday afternoon, Bongo said he is at his residence while his wife and son are in other places.

"Nothing is happening. I don't know what is going on. So I am calling on you to make noise, make noise, make noise really. I'm thanking you," said Bongo in his first public appearance after the coup.

In January 2019 when Bongo was in Morocco recovering from a stroke, a group of soldiers broke into the national radio station in Libreville and announced the establishment of a "national council of the restoration." The government foiled the coup attempt as security forces soon took over the radio station and detained the soldiers.

The international community has voiced concerns over the coup.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said France is following the situation closely. Spokesman of the French government Olivier Veran has condemned the coup, noting that France "reiterates its desire to see the results of the election respected."

Russia also expressed its concerns over the situation in Gabon. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that it is hoped that the situation in Gabon will return to stability. She also advised that Russians temporarily refrain from traveling to this country, if there is no urgent need.