Military officers seized power in a coup on Wednesday, minutes after the announcement of President Ali Bongo’s victory for a third term in presidential elections.
The coup leaders put Bongo under house arrest and chose General Nguema as a transitional leader. The takeover ended the Bongo family’s 56-year hold on power.
The coup is the eighth in West and Central Africa in three years, and it led to crowds of fans going out to celebrate in the streets of the capital, Libreville, but it was condemned from abroad and at home.
Nguema said in a televised interview on Friday evening that the military council would move “quickly but steadily” and would avoid holding elections that “repeate the same mistakes” by keeping the same people in power.
“Moving as fast as possible does not mean organizing ad hoc elections, where we end up making the same mistakes,” he added.
For its part, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECOWAS) said in a statement on Thursday after an emergency meeting that it urged partners led by the United Nations and the African Union to support a speedy return to constitutional order. She said she would meet again on Monday.
Gabon’s main opposition group, Alternative 2023, which says it is the legitimate winner of Saturday’s elections, also called on the international community to urge the military junta to return power to civilians.
Bongo has ruled the country since 2009, succeeding his father, who died after being president since 1967. Opponents say the family has done little to make Gabon’s oil and mining wealth benefit the country’s 2.3 million people, about a third of whom are poor.
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