The deposed president of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, is reportedly being held under house arrest, according to military coup leaders in Gabon on Wednesday.
The military leaders stated this on national Television where they announced that they were “putting an end to the current regime” and cancelling an election that, according to official results, President Ali Bongo Ondimba won.
Albert Ondo Ossa, Bongo’s major rival, placed second with 30.77%, according to the electoral commission. Ondo Ossa’s charges of electoral irregularities have been refuted by Bongo’s team.
His removal from office would put an end to his family’s 53-year rule of Gabon.
14 years have passed since Bongo came to power in the oil-rich nation of West Africa. After the passing of his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who had controlled the nation for 41 years, he was first elected in 2009.
Before polls closed on Saturday, Ondo Ossa had accused Bongo of “fraud” while claiming he was the rightful winner.
While announcing the cancellation of the vote results one of the officers said “all the institutions of the republic” had been dissolved.
