After the announcement of the military takeover on Wednesday morning, thousands of Gabonese took to the streets to celebrate. Videos show protesters singing the national anthem and celebrating the military, while at the same time, the chief of the Republican Guard was carried in triumph by his men. Our Observers in Gabon share their feelings, with some being enthusiastic and others more wary of the coup plotters’ intentions.
The results of the presidential election were barely announced on the night of August 29-30, with the victory of Ali Bongo reelected for a third term, when soldiers appeared on television, on the Gabon 24 channel housed within the presidency itself. They announced the dissolution of “all the institutions of the Republic” due to “the serious institutional, political, economic, and social crisis” facing the country.
From the early hours of the day, thousands of Gabonese took to the streets in several cities to express their joy and celebrate the military.
#Gabon's 🇬🇦 new leader Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema pic.twitter.com/YnOv9tP4v7
— Felix Tih (@felixtiih) August 30, 2023
“We saw that they were high-ranking military officials and that it seemed serious”
Several of our Observers say they were awakened very early by gunshots, like Line (pseudonym), a student who lives in a neighborhood near the capital’s airport, Libreville. She testifies, very emotional:
The gunshots lasted quite a long time, I would say about half an hour. We were quite worried because we had no idea what was happening. Then we heard that the military was going to speak. We watched their intervention on Gabon 24. We were perplexed at first: the last time there was an attempted coup [in 2019, Editor’s note], it was low-ranking soldiers who spoke, but this time we saw that it was high-ranking officials and that it seemed serious.
I am full of hope. There is a huge sense of overflow in Gabon, not just in recent years. My whole life has been in this country without freedom, where we saw no progress, only lies and corruption. I can’t say that I trust this new power, we can’t be sure of its impartiality, but despite the uncertainty, there is a real sense of liberation.
Other Gabonese express their satisfaction: “It’s a real liberation. I’m not suspicious of the military, we know they are on our side, we have time to see what will happen,” says a resident of Port-Gentil.
In the late morning, several videos emerged showing Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, the commander-in-chief of the Republican Guard, being carried in triumph by soldiers in the courtyard of the Republican Guard. He was designated, in the evening, as the transitional president by the coup plotters.
“The army reacted to the electoral coup orchestrated by the ruling power”
The army’s intervention follows the proclamation of the results of the presidential election, which declared Ali Bongo the winner with nearly 64.27% of the votes, compared to just over 30% for his main opponent, Albert Ondo Ossa. Many Gabonese believe that these results are manipulated and that the victory should have gone to the opposition candidate. Marie (pseudonym), a teacher living in Libreville, shares this sentiment.
The army reacted to the electoral coup orchestrated by the outgoing power, which had just announced Ali Bongo as the winner, even though the entire Gabonese population knows that this election was won by the candidate for change, Albert Ondo Ossa, who was elected with an overwhelming majority! If the army had not taken a stand, the population itself would have come out to claim their victory. I think the army reacted to protect the lives of the Gabonese people, as the outgoing power would not have hesitated to massacre the population. We have already experienced this in the past.
Port-Gentil : Scènes de joie après l'annonce du coup d'Etat #Gabon #Bongo #Présidentielle pic.twitter.com/tZXHFDb2Xj
— Info241.com (@Info241_) August 30, 2023
“There may be concerns”
All the Gabonese contacted by our editorial team on Wednesday are pleased with the removal of Ali Bongo, but some are concerned about what will happen next, like Jean, an activist in Libreville:
This coup d’état is already a historic act in itself, it marks a break with a system that has been in power for a long time, 60 years. But there are concerns that can be raised about whether there will be efforts to restore democratic order through the ballot box, whether laws will regulate the exercise of power, whether there will be term limits… In any case, we hope that these events will allow Gabon to write a new political chapter, without Ali Bongo, and put the country on the right track.
“I don’t trust the army to hand over power to civilians”
Others already regret that the army did not hand over power to the opposition candidate, Albert Ondo Ossa, like Paul, an unemployed person in Franceville:
The feeling is that the army refuses to recognize Albert Ondo Ossa’s victory. Of course, the first thing we wanted was to never see the name Bongo associated with the presidency again, but in the end, we ask ourselves the question: allies of Ali Bongo have remained, it is one of his closest guards who now holds the reins of power… Will this be accepted by the population? I don’t trust the army to hand over power to civilians. We hear talk of a two-year transition, maybe more, which is not a good sign.