TRANSCRIPT
Richelle Harrison Plesse 0:00
Joining me now is Beverly Ochieng, an analyst from the BBC. She's been watching events unfold from Nairobi. Beverly, as we just heard EU Defence Ministers are to meet on the issue. Just how serious is it?
Beverly Ochieng 0:16
Well, there's definitely concerns about instability given the spate of military coup that have taken place in the region since 2020. Gabon itself does not face the kind of instability we've seen in Mali, Niger, or Burkina Faso. They don't have militant violence, but political unrest is a concern. Neighboring countries close to Gabon, such as Chad, if you're looking at Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, these are countries that do have active insurgencies. If there is a security gap or a lack of political leadership, there is concern that this could spread in this region, or other actors could take advantage of the situation to spread further instability. There's also French forces European investments in Gabon and concerned that those could be jeopardized in the event that the army does indeed install itself in power.
Richelle Harrison Plesse 0:59
So where does this leave Gabon now fresh after the recent elections, and also an internet blackout? How's it being seen in the country?
Beverley Ocheng 1:08
So far has been celebration over this military coup, keeping in mind that Ali Bongo and his family have been in power for nearly six decades, that's a long time to be in power. There had been contention just before this election, the opposition had. The opposition had alleged that there had been rigging in favor of Ali Bongo, they'd also been concerned that there was not adequate representation. So they are celebrating this but of course, the regional community will be concerned because schools are setting a poor precedent in terms of political representation, and the fact that elections are not being upheld. And this election itself had been contentious. The military has rejected it. We will see if they will be announcing a transition timeline, what their next steps are, who the coup leader will be or whether he'll assert himself and how he wants to work with both civil society groups opposition to have a political transition.
Richelle Harrison Plesse 2:00
Beverly, thanks very much for your insights that's Beverly or Ching joining us from Nairobi.
This timecoded transcript was created using machine learning technology.
