Today’s news / Gabon

Gabon

High-ranking Gabonese military officers claim on television to have seized power in Gabon. The coup follows presidential elections in the country, where the incumbent president, Ali Bongo, retained power with 64.27 percent of the vote, according to the Gabonese electoral authority, CGE. The opposition has condemned the elections as “fraudulent”. The president’s primary challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa, came in second with 30.77 percent of the vote, according to CGE. Ali Bongo’s family has been in power in the oil-rich but impoverished Central African country for the past 56 years. The lack of international observers, the suspension of a number of foreign television broadcasts and the authorities’ decision to restrict access to the Internet have raised concerns about the integrity of the elections. /ritzau/Reuters/