An initial video of developments in the Gabonese capital, Libreville, has been tweeted by a media consultant, amid reports of a coup by the military.
Trucks carrying members of the Republican Guard are seen driving through town as residents cheer them.
There are hundreds of citizens swarmed around the arriving army trucks singing and dancing as the soldiers make their way through town.
Gabonese soldiers in the wee hours of Wednesday, August 30, 2023; announced that they have seized power in the Central African country.
The announcement was made via national television.
According to the soldiers, they were setting aside results of August 26 presidential election.
Incumbent Ali Bongo, now ousted, had barely hours prior been declared winner of the poll which the opposition claimed was fraudulent.
Gabon’s Electoral Commission declared that Mr Bongo had won a little under two-thirds of the votes.
This is the second coup Bongo has faced after a 2019 coup by three soldiers was quashed.
The three soldiers took over the state radio station to announce a short-lived takeover.
Neighbouring countries and the international is yet to comment on the developments.
