2023 Gabonese coup d'état

A coup d'état occurred in Gabon on 30 August 2023. Following contested results and political tension over a general election held on 26 August, the military ousted the reelected president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose victory was announced on 30 August.

The coup brought an end to the 56-year-long rule of the Bongo family over Gabon. It was also the eighth successful coup to occur in West and Central Africa since 2020, following similar occurrences in Mali (twice, in 2020 and 2021), Chad, Guinea, Burkina Faso (twice, in January and September 2022) and Niger.

Background

Since independence from France in 1960, Gabon has primarily been ruled by the Bongo family starting with President Omar Bongo in 1967 and, following his death in 2009, by his son Ali Bongo Ondimba. Ali Bongo Ondimba was re-elected in a controversial election in 2016 which prompted a failed coup attempt in 2019. Under the rule of the Bongo family the country had been plagued by accusations of corruption and nepotism, several elections had been tainted by reports of fraud or irregularities (notably, the official results of the 2016 election from the Bongo family's native province Haut-Ogooue showed Bongo receiving 95.5% of the vote on an alleged 99.9% turnout, an improbable result sparking widespread protests), and the Constitution and electoral laws had been changed multiple times in order to remove term limits, change the voting system to exploit the fractured opposition, and change the timing of elections to ensure the opposition could not rally following a win by the ruling party.

Despite being a member of OPEC, one of Africa's major producers of oil (which accounts for 60% of national revenue), and having one of the highest per-capita GDPs on the continent, Gabon faces serious socioeconomic crises: a third of the population lives below the poverty line of US$5.50 per day, and the unemployment rate among Gabonese aged 15 to 24 was estimated at 40% in 2020.

In a speech delivered on the country's Independence Day on 17 August, Bongo, a close ally of France, insisted that he would not allow Gabon to be subjected to "destabilization", referring to other recent coups in the region.

2023 elections

Following presidential elections held on 26 August 2023, the incumbent president, Ali Bongo, who had been seeking re-election for a third term, was declared the winner according to an official announcement made on 30 August. However, allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities immediately emerged from opposition parties and independent observers, casting doubt over the legitimacy of the election results. In particular, Albert Ondo Ossa, who came second in the elections, alleged electoral irregularities.

Just two hours before the polls closed, Ondo Ossa denounced "fraud orchestrated by the Bongo camp". He had already claimed victory and urged Bongo to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power based on his own purported vote count. The official election results were announced in the middle of the night on state television without prior notice. The country was placed under curfew and internet access was cut off throughout the nation, measures implemented by the government to prevent the spread of "false news" and potential violence.

Coup

Events

Amidst growing scrutiny and widespread protests over the conduct of the elections, the Armed Forces of Gabon launched a pre-dawn coup on 30 August. Soldiers led by high-ranking officers seized control of key government buildings, communication channels, and strategic points within the capital Libreville. Gunfire was also heard in the city.

The coup occurred just minutes after Bongo's re-election was declared at 3:30 am WAT by the Gabonese electoral commission with 64.27% of the vote. During a televised morning address from the Presidential Palace in Libreville on the state channel Gabon 24, around a dozen military personnel announced the end of the existing regime, with a military spokesperson claiming to be speaking on behalf of a "Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions", citing "irresponsible, unpredictable governance" that had led to "a continuous degradation of social cohesion, risking pushing the country into chaos." Among the officers seen during the announcement were army colonels and members of the Republican Guard. They announced the annulment of the recent election, the dissolution of state institutions, and the closure of the country's borders until further notice. Internet access, which had been cut since the election, was reported to have been restored. and the curfew put in place since the election was shortened to nighttime starting on 31 August.

Arrests of Ali Bongo and other officials

The junta later announced the arrest and home detention of Bongo and his eldest son and adviser Noureddin Bongo Valentin, adding that the two were with family and doctors. The President of the National Assembly, Richard Auguste Onouviet, was also arrested by the junta, along with presidential chief of staff Ian Ghislain Ngoulou, his deputy Mohamed Ali Saliou, presidential spokesperson Jessye Ella Ekogha, another presidential adviser and the two top officials in Bongo's Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG). The junta said that they were arrested on charges that included treason, embezzlement, corruption, falsifying the president's signature and drug-trafficking.

Despite his detention, Bongo released a video on social media in which he appeared distressed while pleading for help in English, calling on his friends and supporters both in Gabon and around the world to "raise their voice" and "make noise" in response to the coup. Following his appeal, the CEO of a communications firm that helped Bongo during the election said that the military seized the phones of those who were with Bongo.

Proclamation of Brice Oligui as interim president

Brigadier general Brice Oligui, commander of the Republican Guard, was later installed as interim president by the military junta, and was seen on the shoulders of jubilant army personnel calling him the "president". In an interview with Le Monde later in the day, he referred to Bongo as "retired", and said that the military had staged the coup due to discontent that had been growing in the country since Bongo's stroke in 2018, his decision to run for a third term, the disregarding of the country's constitution and the conduct of the election. His appointment as interim president was confirmed by other generals, while a junta spokesman said that he would formally take office as "transitional president" at the headquarters of the constitutional court on 4 September.

Reactions

Domestic

Following the announcement of the coup, celebrations broke out in the streets of Libreville and in other cities across the country. The Port of Libreville suspended operations. Albert Ondo Ossa, Bongo's main rival in the annulled elections, declined to comment on the coup, saying he was waiting for the situation to evolve. A spokesman for Ondo Ossa’s Alternance 2023 coalition thanked the army for standing up to an "electoral coup d'etat" without bloodshed and called on it to finish counting the results of the annulled election and formally recognize Ondo Ossa’s victory, adding that it had invited the security forces to take part in discussions "to work out the situation within a patriotic and responsible framework".

International

Moussa Faki, the head of the African Union Commission, condemned the coup and called on Gabon's security forces to "adhere strictly to their republican vocation" and guarantee the safety of Bongo, his family, and members of his government. The bloc suspended Gabon's membership on 31 August. ECOWAS also condemned the coup, with regional power Nigeria expressing alarm over "contagious autocracy" following similar events in the region. The Economic Community of Central African States also condemned the military use of force and asked for restoration of constitutional order.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the coup would increase instability in Africa, calling it a "big issue for Europe". He later condemned the coup, but acknowledged that the preceding election had been marred with irregularities and was an "institutional coup", calling the vote "stolen". Patricia Scotland, secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations, which Gabon joined in 2022, reiterated that the organization's charter clearly stated that "member states must uphold the rule of law and the principles of democracy at all times." United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the coup as a means to resolve the "post-electoral crisis” in Gabon.

French government spokesperson Olivier Veran condemned the coup and called for the results of the annulled election to be respected. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called for "relevant sides in Gabon to resolve differences peacefully through dialogue", and for ensuring President Bongo's safety is guaranteed. The United Kingdom condemned the coup, calling it "unconstitutional", but also acknowledged flaws during the election. The United States, while formally not referring to the events in Gabon as a "coup", called on "those responsible" for the takeover to "preserve civilian rule." The US Embassy in Gabon advised its citizens to avoid downtown Libreville and areas near the Presidential Palace. Canada also called for a "quick, peaceful" return to democratic and civilian-led rule, while Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said the country would evaluate its involvement in peacekeeping missions in Africa.

The French mining firm Eramet, which operates the world's largest manganese mines at Moanda and has 8,000 employees in Gabon, said it was halting all work in the country for security reasons. Eramet shares fell 18% on the morning of the coup.

The coup was also seen to have prompted internal reactions from other countries in Africa. In neighboring Cameroon, long-time President Paul Biya reshuffled the country's military leadership, while Rwandan President Paul Kagame "accepted the resignation" of a dozen generals and more than 80 other senior military officers.

See also

• 2023 Nigerien coup d'état
• Françafrique

External links

• A simple guide to the coup from the BBC News