Military officers in oil-producing Gabon said they had seized power on Wednesday and had put President Ali Bongo under house arrest, after the Central African state's election body announced that he had won a third term.
LIBREVILLE, Aug 30 (Reuters) - A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on national television in the early hours of Wednesday and said they had taken power, minutes after the state election body announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term.
Appearing on television channel Gabon 24, the officers said they represented all security and defence forces in the Central African nation.
The state institutions they declared dissolved included the government, the senate, the national assembly, the constitutional court and the election body.
Tensions were running high in Gabon amid fears of unrest after Saturday’s presidential, parliamentary, and legislative vote, which saw Bongo seeking to extend his family’s 56-year grip on power while the opposition pushed for change in the oil and cocoa-rich but poverty-stricken nation.
A lack of international observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts, and the authorities’ decision to cut internet service and impose a night-time curfew nationwide after the poll had raised concerns about the transparency of the electoral process.
Bongo, 64, who succeeded his father Omar as president in 2009, had contested against 18 challengers, six of whom backed Ondo Ossa in an effort to narrow the race.
The original article contains 429 words, the summary contains 195 words. Saved 55%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
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LIBREVILLE, Aug 30 (Reuters) - A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on national television in the early hours of Wednesday and said they had taken power, minutes after the state election body announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term.
Appearing on television channel Gabon 24, the officers said they represented all security and defence forces in the Central African nation.
The state institutions they declared dissolved included the government, the senate, the national assembly, the constitutional court and the election body.
Tensions were running high in Gabon amid fears of unrest after Saturday’s presidential, parliamentary, and legislative vote, which saw Bongo seeking to extend his family’s 56-year grip on power while the opposition pushed for change in the oil and cocoa-rich but poverty-stricken nation.
A lack of international observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts, and the authorities’ decision to cut internet service and impose a night-time curfew nationwide after the poll had raised concerns about the transparency of the electoral process.
Bongo, 64, who succeeded his father Omar as president in 2009, had contested against 18 challengers, six of whom backed Ondo Ossa in an effort to narrow the race.
The original article contains 429 words, the summary contains 195 words. Saved 55%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!