In the pitch-black night, the results of the presidential election in Gabon were made public. Once again, it was a man with the surname Bongo who was named the winner. In any case, if the electoral commission in Gabon is to be believed. But not everyone believes in the electoral commission, and publication of election results has caused unrest in Gabon several times in the past. Seven coups in three years This time it went completely over the top and a military coup is likely to take place. There are many indications that 56 years of the Bongo dynasty are over in the rainforest-covered country on the west coast of Central Africa. Ali Bongo was first voted the winner of Gabon’s disputed election, but was ousted from power by the country’s military a few hours later. Photo: AFP If so, the coup in Gabon will be the seventh successful military coup in three years in Africa. Mali: In August 2020, Assimi Goïta took power from President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The years that followed were turbulent, with an interim president, before Goita again seized all power in 2021. Now he is acting head of state and has promised a new democratic election. So far it has not happened. Guinea: President Alpha Condé was taken prisoner in September 2021, and military leader Mamady Doumbouya became the self-appointed leader of Guinea. Now he is interim president while we wait for a democratic election, which was easy to wait for. Sudan: One of Africa’s largest countries was in a democratization process when army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power from the civilian leadership in September 2021. Later, further attempts at democratization failed and the army ended up in a bloody conflict with the military militia RSF in April this year . One of the world’s worst crises is unfolding in Sudan now. Burkina Faso: In Burkina Faso, 2022 started with a coup in which a young lieutenant colonel took power. He too has promised democratic elections, without delivering on that promise. Chad: A slightly different coup. President Idriss Deby was killed when he visited the front in the fight against rebels in the north of the country. The constitution said that the leader of the parliament should take over if the president dies. But instead, Deby’s son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, took power. It led to protests, but not democracy. Niger: In Niger, it is still uncertain what will happen after Mohamed Bazoum was thrown by military leaders a month ago. There are many indications that the military leaders seized power because they were about to be replaced. The West African cooperation organization Ecowas once again witnessed a coup in West Africa, and has said that they will intervene in Niger if the coup plotters do not surrender. In addition, in the last three years there have been coup attempts in the Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Gambia and Sierra Leone. Countries that have experienced coups or attempted coups in the last three years. Unstable in former French colonies There are some common features of the coup. France is a key word. Apart from Sudan, all the countries that have experienced a successful coup were former French colonies. Could French influence help to create an unstable regime? The answer is not obvious, but the question is worth asking nonetheless. Earlier in history, it has been clear that France has had close ties to several African presidents. The French have been in Africa as diplomats and soldiers, but have also been very active in business. Jubilant people in the streets of Gabon after the coup was a fact. Photo: AFP At times, France has been alarmingly close to partners of certain presidents in times of crisis. Gabon is so far a good example of this. There was an uproar in 1986, when Omar Bongo, father of the current president, won with 99 percent of the vote. The support among the people was hardly reflected by the election result and people protested in the streets. Then France sends in soldiers to support its long-term partners. When the son, Ali Bongo, now experiences a coup, it is unlikely that any help will come from France. They have both become more critical of Bongo and also said that they have stopped such interference as in 1986. French double standards? France is also to blame for double standards in Africa. At the same time as they speak warmly of democracy, they are important supporters of several of the world’s longest-serving presidents. Such as Paul Biya in Cameroon, who is still in power even though this year he turned 90 years old as a person and 39 years old as president. Perhaps the most debated case of possible French interference in African politics is the assassination of Thomas Sankara. He was a young revolutionary president in Burkina Faso who stood up to the West and France. He was loved by the people, but caused unrest in Paris. Especially because the Marxist Sankara ruled in the middle of the Cold War. In 1987, Sankara was assassinated. His collaborator Blaise Compaore took over power, and ruled until he was overthrown in a coup in 2014. Who killed Sankara? It was not allowed to investigate this as long as Compaore, who became a close ally of France, was president. All over Africa you can find images of Sankara, as a symbol of revolution and resistance to the former colonial masters. Photo: AP But after Compaore was ousted from power in 2014, he was put on trial, and later sentenced for the murder of Sankara, who is still an icon across large parts of Africa. Did France play a role France in the murder of Sankara? Many people think so, but there is little evidence and France has always denied having a role in the murder. Høyr Updated its episode about the icon Thomas Sankara: Big differences, and deep poverty The countries that experience coups in Africa also have in common that they struggle with deep poverty among large sections of the population. This is rare due to the lack of natural resources. Niger has uranium, Mali has gold, Gabon has oil. But the income has been distributed too little over the years, and corruption has been extensive. This creates poverty, and leads to several of the countries being at the bottom of the UN’s standard of living index. The exception is Gabon, which lies between countries such as Lebanon and Indonesia. Inequality and poverty lead to popular uprisings and a political basis for carrying out a coup. In Mali and Burkina Faso, this has also led to terrorist groups being able to recruit new members who want to wage war against the state. Military dictatorship On paper, the seven countries, apart from Sudan, have been called democracies. But it is very variable how democratic they have actually been. They all have in common that they have a powerful military that is close to the country’s leadership. In order to rule a country in an authoritarian way, one must have managed to remove democratic mechanisms that prevent you from being authoritarian. Thus, you have also removed the mechanisms that can stop a coup, and one is completely dependent on loyal supporters being satisfied. When things start to get tough, loyalty can disappear, and the military is in the best position to take over. In Niger, military leaders suddenly turned their backs on the president when rumors said he was going to replace them. In the streets, many show support for the coup. Photo: AFP Little functioning civil society Most countries that go through coups have weak civil societies, where people rarely have channels to express dissatisfaction and criticism. In the absence of civil society organisations, trade unions and similar institutions, a military coup is often the best disaffected citizens can hope for. Therefore, the military coup can also gain some support among the people. It often causes a lot of surprise among many Europeans, who would not view a military takeover as positively. But in return, most people in Europe have a number of other tools and channels they can use if they are dissatisfied with the leadership in their country. The media is also often poorly functioning, or controlled by the state, in the countries that have been through coups. Thus, the fourth state power is not in place to be able to hold authoritarian and corrupt leaders to account. The extent of false information is also greater when trust in the media is low.
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African wave of coups with constantly new splashes – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
