COMMONWEALTH PARTIALLY SUSPEND GABON PENDING RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY

The choice was made at a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Commonwealth held concurrently with the UN General Assembly. Leaders demanded that legitimate elections take place as soon as feasible and encouraged Gabon to uphold the Commonwealth’s principles and goals. Shortly after Mr. Bongo was proclaimed the victor of the 2023 presidential election, Gabon’s military removed him from office. Since 2009, when he took over for his father, Mr. Bongo has been in charge of the oil-rich nation. His father had reigned for 41 years.

He was first placed under house arrest when military authorities took over, but he was subsequently freed and allowed to fly abroad for medical examinations. In a meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, the foreign ministers requested that Gabon protect the safety of Mr. Bongo and his family, and they “strongly condemned the unconstitutional removal of the elected government from office.”They stated that the suspension of Gabon was in effect “pending the restoration of democracy”. It excludes Gabon from all gatherings and activities involving the Commonwealth’s heads of government and ministers.

After Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, who orchestrated the coup against Mr. Bongo, was elected as the temporary president of Gabon, the new prime minister, Raymond Ndong Sima, was appointed as interim prime minister in September. Mr. Sima recently stated that new elections should be held in the nation within two years. The future authorities of Gabon have been given until August 30, 2023, to organize free and fair elections, according to Commonwealth ministers. They also said that the nation may be completely expelled from the organization if improvements were not achieved in that period.
The move appears to have been well-received by the populace, despite the coup’s criticism by other African and Western countries. The decision of Mr. Bongo to run for a third term was questioned by many Gabonians.