Explained | After Niger, this is why coup in Gabon is receiving public support

Military officers of Central African nation Gabon announced on August 30 that they have taken power "on behalf of the Gabonese people" and that they were "putting an end to the current regime". The coup occurred just after the results of country's general elections were announced to pave the way for a third presidential term to Ali Bongo Ondimba, who over the years gained notoriety for his alleged corrupt practices.

"The general elections of August 26, 2023, as well as the truncated results, are cancelled. The borders are closed until further notice. All institutions of the Republic are dissolved," a military officer announced on television.

The military described August 26 elections as having not met the conditions for a transparent ballot. "In addition, irresponsible, unpredictable governance has led to a steady deterioration in social cohesion, threatening to drive the country into chaos," the military officer reasoned.

President Ali Bongo currently remains under house arrest, after the Central African state's election body announced that he had won a third term. The ousted president released video of himself in which he can be seen appealing to his 'friends' in the world to 'make noise'.

"I'm sending a message to all friends that we have all over the world to tell them to make noise for... the people here who arrested me and my family," he said in English.

"I'm at the residence and nothing is happening, I don't know what's going on. I'm calling (on) you to make noise," he added.

Where is Gabon?

The nation of a little more than 2 million people, a former French colony, is located on the Atlantic Ocean, and borders Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Congo.

France occupied Gabon in 1885. In 1910 Gabon became one of the four territories of French Equatorial Africa. On 15 July 1960, Gabon gained independence from France.

Gabon is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. According to the latest count, the country produces 181,000 barrels of crude a day, making it the eighth-largest producer of oil in sub-Saharan Africa.

Gabon is slightly smaller in area than the Indian state of Maharashtra.

Gabon latest addition in African 'coup belt'

The coup in Gabon comes a month after military in West African nation Niger took over power and detained democratically-elected Mohamed Bazoum.

Africa now has the longest corridor of military rule on Earth. The continent now has a total over seven countries under military rule.

Apart from Gabon, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan are now controlled by juntas that came to power in a coup — all but one in the past two years.

Gabon coup: Reaction of public

Hundreds of people took to the streets of the Gabonese capital Libreville on Wednesday (August 30) to celebrate the announcement of a military coup that was filmed from the presidential palace.

The visuals were not much different from the kind of public reception that the military takeover in Niger received a month ago.

In the Gabonese capital Libreville, visuals shared on social media showed people cheering on the marching army convoys.

How coup in Gabon is different from the ones in rest of Africa?

The military takeover in Gabon is different in a way that unlike its counterparts in the Sahel region of Africa, the country is least affected by jihadist violence. The country is relatively stable despite high proportion of unemployed people in the population.

Nearly 40 per cent of Gabonese people aged 15-24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank.

Gabon after Niger: Why coups are getting popular public support?

This is largely because the democratically elected leaders have attained infamy for their alleged corrupt practices and overwhelming allegiance to the West, especially France, a former colonial power in the region.

In Gabon, for instance, one of the symbolic descriptions of outlandish expenditure of state funds by people-in-power is this image that shows now-ousted President Ali Bongo with his family.

Ousted Gabonese President Ali Bongo/@AfricaFacts/X

President Ali Bongo, once imported fake snow to the Presidential Palace, so that his family could have a snowy Christmas in Gabonese capital Libreville.

President Ali Bongo ruled Gabon since 2009 while his father President Omar Bongo ruled Gabon from 1967 to 2009. That is, for a whopping 56 of 63 years of independent Gabon's existence, the Ali Bongo's ruled the resource-rich nation.

Instability in Africa: The French factor

All the seven countries in Africa where coups have occurred in the last two years have one marked similarity: they all were former French colonies. Many commentators have asked if France or the legacy of the French colonialism is to blame for the range of instabilities in the region.

Anti-French vitriol has flourished across the Sahel region, where a number of French companies have had controlling stakes over mining resources.

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