Somali Magazine 30 Aug 2023- Early Wednesday, a group of top Gabonese army commanders emerged on national television and declared that they had seized control.
The announcement came shortly after the Gabonese Election Centre (CGE) announced that incumbent President Ali Bongo had won a third term with 64.27% of the vote.
“Today, August 30, 2023, we, the defence and security forces united in the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI), on behalf of the Gabonese people and guarantor of institutional protection, have decided to defend peace by bringing the current regime to an end,” a spokesman said.
He proclaimed the cancellation of the general elections scheduled for August 26, the closing of all borders until further notice, and the dissolution of all republican institutions.
The election results “are truncated,” he said, making them null and invalid.