Gabonese soldiers have appeared on television announcing that they were cancelling the results of the country's recent election and dissolving "all the institutions of the republic" as residents say they heard gunfire in the capital Libreville.
After observing "irresponsible, unpredictable governance resulting in a continuing deterioration in social cohesion that risks leading the country into chaos... we have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime", one of the soldiers said on TV channel Gabon 24, speaking on behalf of the "Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions".
They also announced the closure of the country's borders ''until further notice," AFP news agency reports. The whereabouts of President Ali Bongo are still unclear.
The army's action comes soon after President Bongo was announced to have won a third term in the country's presidential election held last weekend with 64.27% of the vote. The opposition has denounced the election results as fraudulent.
Shockwaves
Announcing the result in the early hours, CGE head Michel Stephane Bonda said Bongo's main challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa, had come in second place with 30.77%. Bongo's team have rejected Ondo Ossa's allegations of electoral irregularities.
A lack of international observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts, and the authorities' decision to cut internet service and impose a nighttime curfew nationwide after the poll raised concerns about the transparency of the electoral process, Reuters news agency reports.
If successful, the coup would represent the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020. Coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger have undermined democratic progress in recent years.
Last month, the military snatched power in Niger, sending shockwaves across the Sahel and sucking in global powers with strategic interests at stake.
