BREAKING: Another Military Coup As Soldiers Overthrow President Ali Bongo in Gabon

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The military officers have appeared on National Television in Gabon to say they have taken power from President Ali Bongo Ondimba.

Twelve soldiers appeared on National Television announcing they were cancelling the results of the election and dissolving “all the institutions of the republic”.

Bongo took over from his father, Umar Bongo, who was president from 1967 until his death in 2009. The former has been president since then, supervising fraudulent elections, including the recent one held five days ago, which saw him emerge as the winner with 52% of the total votes cast, according to the country’s election management body.

Gabon’s government blocked internet access and imposed a curfew on Saturday after an election marked by major voting delays, as the opposition cried foul over a poll they hoped would halt President Ali Bongo’s bid to extend his family’s 56-year grip on power.

The outcome of the election heightened tensions, forcing the military to intervene. “We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime,” one of the soldiers said during the declaration.

This, he added, was down to “irresponsible, unpredictable governance resulting in a continuing deterioration in social cohesion that risks leading the country into chaos”.

President Bongo is partially paralysed, as seen in the video below, and was reported to have wet himself at a public gathering of African leaders in Paris a year ago.

President Ali Bongo Ondimba was re-elected as head of state with 64.2% of the vote.