🔴 Gabonese soldiers say they called off the election after Bongo’s victory was announced

  • Appears on Gabon 24 Television Channel, officials said they represent all security and defense forces of the Central African country.
  • Soldiers said that all election results were annulled boundaries Closed until re-notification and dissolution of state institutions.
  • Gabon voted on Saturday in presidential, parliamentary and legislative elections, led by incumbents Ali Bongo and Ondo Osa. race 14 candidates are contesting for the top post.

At 6:48 a.m. gunfire was heard in the capital city of Libreville

Reuters and AFP reporters followed a televised announcement by military officials that heavy gunfire was heard in the capital, Libreville.

The tension was high and there was fear Restlessness After Saturday’s vote, Bongo sought to extend his family’s 56-year hold on power, while the opposition pressed for change in the oil- and cocoa-rich but poverty-stricken nation.

A lack of international viewers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasters — France 24 and sister radio France Internationale — and the authorities’ decision to cut Internet service and impose a nationwide nighttime curfew have raised concerns about transparency. of the electoral process.

There was no immediate comment from the side Government OPEC+ member country.

At 6:43 a.m. the soldiers announced in a televised address that they were disbanding state institutions

Appears on Gabon 24 Television Channel, officials said they represent all security and defense forces of the Central African country. They claimed that all the election results were annulled boundaries Closed until re-notification and dissolution of state institutions.

“In the name of the people of Gabon… we have decided to put an end to the current regime and keep the peace,” officials said.

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One soldier said that “all the institutions of the republic” had been dissolved.

“We have decided to preserve peace by ending the current regime,” said an army officer, speaking on behalf of the “Committee for Institutional Change and Restructuring”.

“For this, the August 26, 2023 general elections and the truncated results are cancelled,” he said.

“All the institutions of the republic have been dissolved: the government, the senate, the national assembly and the constitutional court,” he added, announcing the closure of the country’s borders “until further notice”.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AFP and AP)

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