African Union suspends Gabon after junta announced new leader

Following the military coup in Gabon, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council has suspended the Central African country. 

Despite condemnations from other African leaders, the junta will on Monday, September 4, 2023, inaugurate its leader, Gen. Brice Nguema as “transitional president.”

The junta in a statement by its spokesman, Col. Ulrich Manfoumbi announced the inauguration of Gen. Nguema would take place at the constitutional court.

But the country’s main opposition party, the Alternance 2023 coalition wants the junta to declare its presidential candidate, Albert Ondo Ossa as the winner of the Saturday, August 26 election in the country. 

However, amid the international condemnation of the political development in Gabon, the African Union after its Peace and Security Council meeting on Thursday, August 31, 2023, suspended Gabon’s membership. 

The organisation said it decided to “suspend the participation of Gabon in all activities of its organs and institutions,” at the meeting chaired by its Commissioner for Political Affairs Bankole Adeoye and the current holder of the council’s rotating chair, Burundi’s Nyamitwe.

Central Africa’s political bloc, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) has also condemned the ouster of President Ali Bongo Ondimba.

The bloc in a statement called for an ‘imminent meeting’ of heads of state to determine how to respond but did not give a date.

According to Aljazeera, there has been a muted reaction from the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) due to a fear of a contagion of coups in the region among countries with similar regimes to the Bongo dynasty.