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On August 30, the political landscape in Gabon changed drastically. The military forces decided to take power after the criticized presidential elections held on August 26. In this way, Ali Bongo, political dolphin of the Bongo family and who was going to serve his third consecutive term, was overthrown. This fact redirects the gaze of the international community towards Africa, where coups d’état have rebounded in recent years.
Gabon is part of the wave of political crisis that West-Central Africa is experiencing. Before the coup in Gabon, Guinea, Chad and Niger also suffered democratic setbacks. In addition to two in Mali and Burkina Faso since 2020.
The power grabs occur in a region where insecurity and widespread poverty have weakened elected governments, generally allied with international powers with strategic interests.
What happened in Gabon is the eighth military coup in West and Central Africa in three years and comes about a month after the fall of Mohammed Bazoum in Niger. Unlike Niger and neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, which have each had two coups since 2020 and are being overrun by extremist violence, Gabon was seen as relatively stable.
The military coup in Gabon took place days after the elections in which President Ali Bongo was confirmed re-elected with 64% of the votes for the third time by the electoral commission; while his main rival Ondo Ossa got almost 31%.
The African Union Peace and Security Council on Thursday demanded that the military refrain from any interference in the political process and called for fair and transparent elections. He added that he will impose sanctions on the coup leaders if they do not return to the barracks and restore constitutional order.
Is there a contagion of blows in Africa? We open the debate with our guests.
– Jerónimo Delgado, PHD in international relations at the University of Cape Town and president of the Latin American Association for Asian and African Studies.
– Omer Freixa, Africanist historian, teacher and writer.
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