Gabon - August 2023

Gabon held elections for the president, members of the national assembly, and municipal councils on 26 August. The election took place without any international observers, and the government instituted both an Internet shutdown and a curfew as the polls closed. The official result was announced by the electoral commission on 30 August, giving President Ali Bongo Ondimba a third term as he was said to have received 64.3 per cent of the vote, well ahead of the leading opposition candidate Albert Ondo Ossa, who received 30.7 per cent. Opposition parties alleged that the official result was fraudulent.

Shortly after the electoral commission’s announcement, factions of the military led by General Brice Oligui Nguema staged a coup d’état and removed President Ali Bongo Ondimba from power. In a televised address, coup leaders announced that the recent election was annulled, and that government institutions had been dissolved, including the legislature and the Constitutional Court. President Bongo was detained for a week after the coup. General Oligui was sworn in as the interim president on 4 September, promising elections but not specifying a timeline for a return to civilian rule. The coup was condemned by the international community, and Gabon was suspended from the African Union.

Sources: Le Point, France24, Radio France Internationale, Reuters (1), British Broadcasting Corporation (1), Le Monde, Reuters (2), The Guardian, British Broadcasting Corporation (2)