The new Gabon military ruler has promised to restore democracy but has been unclear about when elections will be held.
According to General Brice Oligui Nguema, the suspension of state institutions in the country is merely “temporary” until they are reformed to be more transparent and accountable. However, the opposition coalition in Gabon claims the military has shown no evidence of transferring authority.
Ali Bongo, the former president, is currently under house arrest.
On Wednesday morning, August 30, 2023, officials from the country’s armed forces emerged on national television to announce that they had taken power, ending the Bongo family’s 55-year rule of the central African country.
They announced that they had cancelled Mr. Bongo’s victory in a presidential election that was declared on Saturday, despite widespread allegations from the opposition that it was fraudulent.
On Friday night, General Nguema gave a televised address in which he pledged that the military would act “quickly but surely” to prevent elections from “repeating the same mistakes” by maintaining the same people in power.
Military officers in Gabon seized power in the central African nation, as previously reported by Tru News Report. They claimed that the weekend elections were fraudulent, justifying their takeover of the government. They cancelled the election results, shut down all government organisations, and closed the country’s borders.
