Gabonese Army Says It Has Ousted President Omar Bongo

Army officers have appeared on national television to say they have seized power in Gabon.

This is coming just after President Ali Bongo was re-elected to a third term in office in the Central African nation.

The  BBC is reporting that the officers said they were annulling the results of Saturday’s election which the opposition had denounced as “fraudulent”.

Twelve soldiers reportedly appeared on television to announce that they were cancelling the results of the election and dissolving “all the institutions of the republic”.

“We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime,” one of the soldiers was quoted as saying on TV channel Gabon 24.

The soldier cited “irresponsible, unpredictable governance resulting in a continuing deterioration in social cohesion that risks leading the country into chaos”.

The Gabonese Election Centre (CGE) had declared Bongo winner of the election on Wednesday with 64.27% of the votes cast.

Michel Bonda, CGE head, said Bongo’s main challenger, Albert Ossa, had polled second with 30.77%.