A group of military officers who call themselves "defense and security forces" in Gabon said on Wednesday that they have taken control of the African country. This announcement was made in a speech that was being shared on social media. The announcement was made a few minutes after Gabon's election authority declared that the current President Ali Bongo had won the election for the third time. This means that his family, who has been ruling the oil-rich Central African country with a population of 2. 3 million for the past 50 years, will continue in power. A military officer said on Gabon24, which is now called X, that they are defending peace by ending the current regime to protect the institutions and the people of Gabon. CNN saw this broadcast on Twitter. During the broadcast, the army officer said that the election results would be cancelled and the country's borders would be shut until they give a new update. "The officer said that all the institutions of the republic, including the government, Senate, National Assembly, Constitutional Court, Economic and Social and Environmental Council, and Elections Council of Gabon, have been dissolved. " We are asking the people of Gabon, the communities of nearby countries living in Gabon, and Gabonese people living abroad to stay calm. Gunshots were heard loudly in the capital city of Libreville, as reported by a Reuters journalist, soon after the person appeared on television. According to Reuters, if it succeeds, the coup will be the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020. The overthrow of governments in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger has damaged the progress towards democracy in these countries. Recently, a group of military leaders took control of Niger, a country in West Africa. This made the African Union suspend Niger's membership in their organization, which consists of 55 countries. This month, the leader of Niger's military suggested that they should go back to having a democratic government in three years. They will figure out the details of how this transition will happen within the next 30 days. On Wednesday, the election officials in Gabon announced that Bongo had won the presidential election with 64. 27% of the votes. However, the opposition criticized the election, claiming it was fraudulent and faced many delays.

Bongo's biggest competitor, Albert Ondo Ossa, came in second place with 30. 77%, according to the election authorities. Bongo's group said that Ondo Ossa's claims of unfairness in the election were not true. Ali Bongo, who is 64 years old, became the leader after his father, Omar Bongo, passed away in 2009. Omar Bongo had been in power for 42 years but unfortunately died from a heart problem while being treated for intestinal cancer in a Spanish clinic. The older Bongo became the leader in 1967, seven years after the country became independent from France. He was in charge of a small country and had complete control. He made it so only one political party was allowed to rule for a long time. It was only in 1991 that he allowed more than one party to rule, but his party still had power over the government. In this week's election, Ali Bongo competed against 18 other challengers. Six of these challengers supported Ondo Ossa, who used to be a minister and a professor at a university, in order to make the race more competitive. Many people who were against the government wanted to make changes in the country that was affected by poverty. People are worried that there might be trouble after the election on Saturday for the president, parliament, and other government positions. There are worries about whether the election process was fair because there weren't enough international observers, some foreign broadcasts were stopped, the government cut off the internet, and a nighttime curfew was imposed everywhere after the vote. Before the election, the organization called Reporters Without Borders criticized the government of Gabon for stopping foreign journalists from reporting on the event. The organization said that many reporters from foreign media who wanted to go to Gabon to report on the election were not allowed to go. They mentioned some journalists and news organizations who were affected. "It is old fashioned and out of touch to not allow foreign media to report on such an important moment in a country's democracy. The population needs diverse reporting at this time. " And on Friday, the day before the vote, the United Nations said in a statement that it wants the voting process to be peaceful and fair. They are asking everyone involved, like the candidates and their supporters, to prioritize the country's wellbeing over anything else. Gabon has seen many conflicts and unease in the past regarding Bongo's leadership, which has often been questioned by critics. In 2016, the parliament building was set on fire during angry street protests against Bongo's disputed re-election for his second term. The government stopped people from using the internet for a few days. In 2019, some soldiers and military officers tried to takeover the country by forcefully entering the state radio and television building. They held the staff inside as hostages and proclaimed that they were now in charge of the whole nation. They expressed their unhappiness with Bongo as president and promised to bring back democracy in the country. Then, the defense and security forces of Gabon took action to stop the takeover and free the hostages. Two soldiers died and eight military officers were taken into custody.