Gabon has been partially suspended from the Commonwealth after military leaders staged a coup to depose President Ali Bongo.
The decision was made by a gathering of Commonwealth foreign ministers during the United Nations general assembly.
Leaders urged Gabon to uphold the values and standards of the Commonwealth.
They urged the country to hold credible elections as soon as possible.
Shortly after Mr. Bongo was declared the winner of the 2023 presidential election, Gabon’s military removed him from office.
Mr Bongo had been in power in the oil-rich country since 2009, when he succeeded his father who had ruled the country for 41 years.
When the military took over, he was initially put under house arrest, but he was later set free and allowed to go abroad for medical heck-ups.
In a statement, the foreign ministers, who are members of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, demanded that Gabon ensure Mr. Bongo’s safety and that of 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 Commonwealth intergovernmental meetings and events, including ministerial and heads of government meetings.
After Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, who orchestrated the coup against Mr. Bongo, was elected as the interim president of Gabon, the new prime minister, Raymond Ndong Sima, was appointed as interim prime minister in September.
In an interview with the media, Mr. Sima suggested that new elections be held in the country within two years.
Commonwealth ministers gave the new leaders of Gabon until August 30, 2023, to hold free and fair elections. They also added that the nation might be completely expelled from the group if no changes were made in that time.
Despite the coup’s condemnation by other world leaders in both Africa and the West, a large portion of the populace seems to have embraced the change.
Many Gabonese questioned Mr. Bongo’s decision to run for a third term, and the opposition claimed widespread fraud.
Following his stroke in October 2018, some people had grave concerns about his ability to lead effectively.
Source-BBC
