The Gabonese military has staged a coup, deposing President Ali Bongo, who had been declared the winner of Saturday’s election. According to the BBC, soldiers came on Gabonese national television to announce that they had taken control of the government.
The coupists also declared the election on Saturday invalid. The development comes amid efforts in Niger Republic to settle the ouster of a democratically elected president.
Bongo, who took power when his father died in 2009, was re-elected for a third term in an election that the opposition claimed was severely contested.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU), both of which have condemned the coup in Niger, have yet to respond to the situation in Gabon as of the time of filing this report because events are still unfolding.
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