Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki on Wednesday condemned the coup attempt in the central African country of Gabon, reported Xinhua.
In a press statement, Faki expressed great concern over the situation in Gabon and strongly condemned the coup attempt as a way to solve the post-electoral crisis.
The AU Commission chairperson also condemned the coup attempt as a flagrant violation of the legal and political instruments of the AU, including the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.
He called on the Gabonese army and security forces to "adhere strictly to their republican vocation and to guarantee the physical integrity of the President of the Republic, members of his family, and those of his government."
Faki further encouraged all political, civil and military actors in Gabon to give priority to peaceful political avenues, and a rapid return to democratic constitutional order in the country.
The Gabonese military have canceled presidential election results and dissolved state institutions, officers said on Wednesday, claiming that they have taken power and put President Ali Bongo under house arrest.
Gabon's national electoral body said earlier in the day that Bongo from the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party was re-elected for a third term in Saturday's election. However, the officers said the election was not credible.
Ali Bongo, 64, once served as minister of defense and other posts in the government. He was elected president of the Gabonese Republic in 2009 and was re-elected in 2016.
In January 2019 when Bongo was in Morocco recovering from a stroke, a group of soldiers broke into the national radio station in Libreville and announced the establishment of a "national council of the restoration." The government foiled the coup attempt as security forces soon took over the radio station and detained the soldiers.
- AU
- Coup
- Gabon
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
