A group of army officers in Gabon announced on national television on Wednesday ousting Ali Bongo. They announced they had taken power, annulling the results of the recent presidential election and dissolving “all the institutions of the republic.”

 

The officers who appeared on Gabon 24 TV channel announced the nullification of the election results and the dissolution of “all the institutions of the republic.”

 

One of these soldiers said, “We have chosen to safeguard peace by terminating the existing regime.”

 

Bongo, who has been in power since 2009, was declared the election winner on Saturday, but the opposition has alleged widespread fraud.

 

The coup is the latest in a series of political upheavals in Gabon, ruled by the Bongo family for over 50 years.

 

In 2018, Bongo suffered a stroke that hospitalized him for several months. The following year, a failed coup attempt saw mutinying soldiers sent to prison.