Gabon Coup Leader Sworn In As 'Interim" President

 

France 24: Gabon coup leader sworn in as 'transitional' head of state  

General Brice Oligui Nguema, who led a coup last week that toppled Gabon's 55-year-old dynasty, took the oath of office as interim president on Monday, promising to hold "free... (and) transparent elections" after an unspecified period.  

Oligui, head of the elite Republican Guard, led officers in a coup on Wednesday against President Ali Bongo Ondimba, scion of a family that had ruled since 1967. 

The ousting came just moments after Bongo, 64, was proclaimed victor in last month's presidential election -- a result branded a fraud by the opposition. "I swear before God and the Gabonese people to faithfully preserve the republican regime," said Oligui.  

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WNU Editor: Gabon is the latest in a long string of coups in Africa. You have to wonder who is next? 

Gabon Coup Leader Sworn In As 'Interim" President  

 Gabon coup leader Brice Nguema vows free elections - but no date -- BBC  

Military junta leader is sworn in as Gabon's interim president -- CNN  

Gabon coup leader Nguema sworn in as transitional head of state -- Al Jazeera  

Gabon's Gen. Oligui Nguema sworn in as 'transitional' head of state -- Africa News  

General Brice Oligui Nguema, the man named to lead Gabon after coup -- France 24

Military Coup In The African Nation Of Gabon

 

Reuters: Gabon officers declare military coup, President Ali Bongo detained 

LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on television in the early hours of Wednesday and said they had taken power, after the state election body announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term. 

Appearing on the television channel Gabon 24, the officers said they represented all security and defence forces in the Central African nation. 

They said the election results were cancelled, all borders closed until further notice and state institutions dissolved. There was no immediate comment from the government of the OPEC-member nation.  

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WNU Editor: This coup happened minutes after Gabon's state body announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term in an election that many saw was fraudulent .... Gabon's Ali Bongo re-elected president in disputed election (France 24). 

 The ousted President was also a strong supporter of efforts to restore the civilian government in Niger .... Niger Coup: President Tinubu welcomes ECCAS support for ECOWAS (Premium Times). This coup is a huge blow for the West and their African allies.  

Update: This is the 8th coup in West and Central Africa since 2020 .... Gabon coup attempt follows military takeovers in former French colonies in Africa (France 24). 

 Update #2: Gabon is a member of OPEC, but the wealth is not being seen by much of its population .... Gabon's economy: A wealth of resources that fails to trickle down to the population (France 24). 

Military Coup In The African Nation Of Gabon  

Live: Gabon's President Bongo appears in video message from house arrest -- France 24 

Gabon live: President under house arrest as coup leaders meet for next step -- Al Jazeera  

Gabon coup: Army annuls elections and seizes power -- BBC  

Soldiers in Gabon say they’ve seized power and detained a president whose family ruled for 55 years -- AP  

Gabon military officers declare coup after Ali Bongo wins disputed election -- The Guardian  

Military officers in Gabon declare coup and place president under house arrest -- CNN  

Gabon coup attempt sees military chiefs declare election results "cancelled" and "end to current regime" -- CBS  

Gabon: Military seizes power after reelection of Ali Bongo -- DW  

Gabon Military Officers Say Deposed President is Under House Arrest -- VOA  

Gabon coup leaders to meet and decide Bongo fate, new leader -- Al Jazeera  

Who is Brice Oligui Nguema, alleged coup leader in Gabon? -- Al Jazeera  

Gabon’s wealthy, dynastic leader thought he could resist Africa’s trend of coups. He might be wrong -- AP

Coup Attempt Fails In Gabon

The Guardian: Gabon detains soldiers after failed coup

Group of soldiers had called on people to ‘rise up’ while ailing president is out of country

The Gabonese government has put down a coup attempt after a group of soldiers briefly took over state radio and broadcast a statement calling on people to “rise up” while the president, Ali Bongo, is in Morocco recovering from a stroke.

Authorities have regained control of the state broadcasting offices and a major thoroughfare in the capital, Libreville, which were the only areas taken by the plotters, the government spokesman Guy-Bertrand Mapangou told Radio France International.

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WNU Editor: There are currently US forces in Gabon .... US troops in Gabon remain focused on Congo despite local coup attempt (Stars and Stripes).

More News On Today's Coup Attempt In Gabon

Gabon coup attempt: Government says situation under control -- BBC
Gabon’s government puts down coup attempt, arrests plotters -- AP
Gabon thwarts military coup attempt in President's absence -- Reuters
Gabon says coup bid thwarted, as president abroad -- AFP
Gabon's Envoy to Paris: Rebel Soldiers in Libreville Arrested - Reports -- Sputnik
Gabon soldiers seize state radio in potential coup attempt -- DW
What you need to know about the attempted coup in Gabon -- Al Jazeera
Key things to know about Gabon -- AFP
Who is President Ali Bongo? -- DW

Gabon's President Has Rejected His Election Defeat

Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh attends the plenary session of the Africa-South America Summit on Margarita Island September 27, 2009. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Files

CNN: Gambia's President Jammeh rejects election defeat

(CNN)Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has declared his "total rejection" of the results of his country's December 1 election and called for his country to vote again -- a week after accepting his defeat.

Jammeh, who has ruled Gambia with an iron grip since seizing power in a 1994 military coup, suffered a shock loss after running for his fifth term in office.

On December 2, Jammeh accepted his defeat and congratulated Adama Barrow on his victory in an address broadcast by Gambian state television. But he now refuses to accept the outcome.

"I announce to you, Gambians, my total rejection of the election results and thereby annulling the elections in its entirety," he said in a televised speech Friday.

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More News On Gabon's President Rejecting His Election Defeat

Gambian president rejects election results, demands fresh polls -- France 24
Gambia leader Yahya Jammeh rejects election result -- BBC
Gambian president Yahya Jammeh rejects election result -- The Guardian
Gambian President Rejects Election Outcome -- VOA
The Gambia: troops deployed to streets as president rejects election defeat -- The Guardian
Gambia's president-elect says loser Jammeh cannot reject polls -- Reuters
Gambia President's rejection of poll results "null and void"- African Union -- Reuters
Gambia leader's rejection of defeat 'null and void,' AU says -- AP
Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh's poll rejection condemned -- BBC

Gabon Rocked By Post-Election Violence

The Guardian: Gabon opposition headquarters 'bombed by presidential guard'

Protesters clash with security forces after Ali Bongo is declared winner of presidential election by margin of less than 6,000 votes

Gabon’s presidential guard has apparently bombed the opposition party’s headquarters during post-election violence that has threatened to split the country apart.

Clashes between angry protesters and security forces broke out in the normally peaceable central African country after the incumbent president, Ali Bongo, was declared the winner of a hotly contested election by a margin of less than 6,000 votes.

Up to 10 people have reportedly been killed and dozens wounded in violence that erupted in the capital, Libreville.

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More News On The Unrest In Gabon

Gabon presidential guard 'bombed Jean Ping's party HQ' -- BBC
Helicopter 'bombs' Gabon opposition HQ after President Bongo claims re-election by 5594 votes -- The Telegraph
Over 1,000 arrested as post-election riots rage in Gabon -- Reuters
1,000 arrested in post-election violence in Gabon -- USA Today
Gabon election 2016: Jean Ping demands a recount -- Al Jazeera
Deadly Protests Shake Gabon After Allegations Of Election Fraud -- NPR
Electoral violence returns to haunt Gabon -- DW
Gabon opposition leader Ping says Bongo should recognize defeat: BFM TV -- Reuters

America Does Not Need Allies Like This One

Obama And A White House Invite For Dictator Who Has Stolen Billions From His Impoverished African Nation -- Daily Mail

Barack Obama has come under fire for extending a formal invitation to a shamed African dictator who has ruthlessly plundered billions of dollars from his own country.

The U.S. President is today having a coveted private meeting with President Ali Bongo of Gabon in the Oval Office despite his appalling track record.

Bongo’s family has ruled the impoverished African nation with an iron fist for five decades and have used its oil riches to fund a life of outrageous luxury.

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My Comment: What is President Obama thinking?

Unrest In Gabon After Presidential Election

Tires are set on fire during clashses in Libreville. Photo AFP

Gabon's Rage At France's Influence In Africa -- Time Magazine

The angry and at times violent protests that broke out in Gabon on Thursday, Sept. 3, following the results of the Aug. 31 presidential election weren't fueled only by accusations that the contest had been rigged. A large portion of the fury was also focused on former colonial power France, which critics claim continues a long tradition of tolerating antidemocratic and repressive behavior by Africa's strongmen in exchange for their political and economic deference to Paris.

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More News On The Unrest In Gabon

The old Africa game entangles France again -- Times Online blog
Autocrat’s Heir Claims Victory in Gabon -- New York Times
Gabon court confirms Ali Bongo's victory -- AP
Ali Bongo: Like father, like son? -- BBC
Gabon quiet, opposition vows court fight -- Forbes/Reuters
Security Tightens Following Overnight Curfew in Gabon -- Voice of America
Gabon Riots Continued Overnight in Port-Gentil -- Bloomberg
Unrest rocks Gabon after Bongo wins disputed vote -- AFP