This Thursday, August 31, 2023, Josep Borrell, the head of European Union foreign policy, emphasized that the crisis in Niger could not be compared to the military coup in Gabon, as the officers intervened after the victory of the ousted president, Ali Bongo, in unfair elections.
“Of course, military coups are not the solution, but we must not forget that in Gabon, there were elections full of irregularities,” he stated, arguing that a rigged vote could be equivalent to a “civil institutional coup.” Ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Josep Borrell spoke about how to help the West African regional group ECOWAS manage the military takeover on July 26 in Niger.
According to Borrell, the ECOWAS president, Bola Tinubu, and the foreign minister of the deposed civilian government of Niger would be present at the meeting scheduled in Toledo, Spain. While the EU and ECOWAS are firmly opposed to the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum by the Nigerien military, he stressed that the tragic events in Gabon on Thursday were not at all similar.
“The situations in Niger and Gabon are not at all equivalent. In Niger, the president was democratically elected. In Gabon, a few hours before the military coup, it was an institutional coup, as the elections were stolen,” he declared.
Furthermore, General Brice Oligui Nguema, chief of the Republican Guard, was named transitional president in Gabon after Ali Bongo proclaimed his victory in the elections. The latest coup was condemned by the African Union, while Nigeria, a major regional power, is concerned about a “contagious autocracy” following similar events in Niger and Mali.
