(Ecofin Agency) - The group of military and police officers who announced on television that they had seized power in Gabon said on Wednesday morning that President Ali Bongo Ondimba had been placed under house arrest. "Ali Bongo Ondimba is under house arrest. He is surrounded by his family and his doctors," according to a statement read out mid-day on the state-owned channels Gabon 24 and Gabon 1ère by the defense and security forces united in the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI).

They also announced the arrest of several people ( seven in all), notably for "high treason against state institutions, massive misappropriation of public funds, financial wrongdoing, forgery, falsification of the signature of the President of the Republic, active corruption and drug trafficking." Those arrested include Noureddin Bongo Valentin, the ousted President’s son, and Jessye Ella Ekogha, the President’s advisor and spokesperson.

 "An investigation will be carried out by the competent authorities, and those concerned will be held accountable for their actions," said the CTRI.

This announcement comes after the publication, in the early hours of Wednesday 30, 2023, of the official results of the 2023 presidential election by the Gabonese Elections Center (CGE). These results show President Ali Bongo as the winner with 64.27% of the vote, against 30.77% for his main rival, the opponent Albert Ondo Ossa, the consensus candidate of the Alternance 2023 coalition. These were "falsified results" according to the CTRI, which announced earlier in the day that it had "dissolved" all institutions and "put an end to the current regime.”

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