AFP
The chief of a coup that ousted Gabon’s President Ali Bongo was sworn in as interim president by constitutional courtroom judges on Monday in a televised ceremony designed to solidify the junta’s grip on energy.
In West and Central Africa’s eighth coup in three years, navy officers led by General Brice Oligui Nguema seized energy on August 30, minutes after an announcement that Bongo had secured a 3rd time period in an election – a consequence they annulled and stated was not credible.
Nguema was given a standing ovation by an viewers of navy officers and officers as he arrived for the ceremony, and once more simply after he was sworn in. State TV confirmed pictures of a cheering crowd and tanks firing into the ocean to mark the second.
The coup, which ended the Bongo household’s 56-year maintain on energy within the oil-producing nation, had drawn cheering crowds onto the streets of the capital Libreville however condemnation from overseas.
Leaders of the Central African regional bloc ECCAS are on account of meet in individual on Monday to debate their response to the ouster. Last week they urged companions led by the United Nations and the African Union to help a fast return to constitutional order.
The junta has not but stated how lengthy it envisages holding energy. On Friday, Nguema stated it will proceed “quickly but surely,” however cautioned that an excessive amount of haste may result in elections that lack credibility.
