Minutes after the state electoral commission declared President Ali Bongo had won a third term, a group of top Gabonese military officials came on national television early on Wednesday and said they had taken power.
The officers claimed to speak for all of the country's security and defense forces when they appeared on the television network Gabon 24. They claimed that governmental institutions had been disbanded, the election results had been annulled, and all borders had been blocked indefinitely.
According to a report by the news agency Reuters, after the television appearance, loud shooting could be heard in Libreville, the country's capital.
The army commanders in Gabon who claim to have taken over assert that the nation is "on the road to happiness" and that Libreville would uphold its obligations "to the national and international community."
“In the name of the Gabonese people, we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime, We call for calm and serenity from the public, the communities of sister countries settled in Gabon, and the Gabonese diaspora,” an officer reading a statement on state TV said.
“We reaffirm our commitment to respecting Gabon’s commitments to the national and international community,” he added.
After Saturday's presidential, parliamentary, and legislative elections, which saw Bongo attempting to maintain his family's 56-year hold on power as the opposition fought for change in the oil- and cocoa-rich but impoverished country, tensions were high and there were worries of turmoil.
According to the report by Reuters, concerns regarding the integrity of the election were raised by the absence of foreign observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts, and the authorities' decision to shut down internet connectivity and impose a nighttime curfew over the country following the vote.
In January 2019, Gabon prevented a military takeover attempt after troops briefly took control of the official radio station and said that Bongo, who had suffered a stroke months before, was no longer qualified to hold office.
The coup, if successful, would be the sixth to take place in West and Central Africa since 2020. Some of the nations that have had a coup in recent years include Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger.
Just a few weeks back, military officers in the west African country of Niger staged a coup in what has now become one of Africa's most contentious coups.
The coup has spurred an intervention from the West African regional Bloc, ECOWAS, which threatened to use force to quell the current unrest in the region. Additionally, there has been some international sanction on the country, including from the World Bank, which withdrew operations in Niger temporarily.