African leaders work on response to Gabon military coup

On Thursday, African leaders were preparing a response to the military in Gabon, which deposed President Ali Bongo and installed a general as president, the latest in a sequence of coups in West and Central Africa that regional forces have failed to reverse.

The coup brings an end to the Bongo family dynasty’s nearly six decades in power and creates a fresh conundrum for a region that has dealt with eight coups since 2020. It has been described as a “contagion of autocracy” by Nigeria’s newly elected president.

The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Central Africa’s political organization, condemned the coup in a statement, saying it planned a “imminent” gathering of heads of state to consider how to respond. It did not provide a date.

According to a spokesperson for the African Union Commission chair, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council will convene on Thursday to address the coup.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who was sworn in in May and currently chairs the West African group ECOWAS, said on Wednesday that he is collaborating with other African leaders to combat what he calls a “contagion of autocracy” sweeping across Africa.

Gabonese senior officers proclaimed their coup before daybreak on Wednesday, only hours after an election commission concluded that Bongo had easily won a third term during Saturday’s poll.

Later that day, a video surfaced showing Bongo being held in his home, pleading with diplomatic supporters for assistance while seemingly unconscious of what was going on around him. General Brice Oligui Nguema, previous chief of the presidential guard, was also named head of state by the officers.

The coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger during the last four years have erased democratic achievements made since the 1990s, increasing concerns among foreign countries with regional strategic interests. The coups also demonstrated African states’ limited leverage once the military takes control.

Following a coup in Niger on July 26, ECOWAS threatened military action and levied sanctions, but the junta has refused to back down. Military leaders in other countries, such as Mali, have also defied international pressure. They have retained power, and some have even acquired popular support.

Hundreds of people came to the streets of Gabon’s capital, Libreville, to celebrate the coup that occurred on Wednesday. The city was calmer on Thursday as people returned to work, however security officers were stationed at major crossings and thoroughfares.

Bongo’s popularity has dwindled due to allegations of corruption, bogus elections, and a refusal to spend more of Gabon’s oil and mineral resources on the needy. On the death of his father, Omar, who had reigned since 1967, he took over in 2009.

The African Union, France, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have all expressed worry about the coup. They have not, however, made explicit calls to reinstate Bongo.

The European Union’s foreign policy leader, Josep Borrell, said the election was riddled with anomalies and that the EU opposed the seizure of power through force.

“The challenges facing Gabon must be resolved in accordance with the principles of the rule of law, constitutional order, and democracy,” he stated.

Concerns were expressed about the openness of the vote due to a lack of international observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts, and the authorities’ decision to limit internet service and impose a midnight curfew following the ballot.