• On Wednesday, the head of Gabon's elite Republican Guard, General Brice Oligui Nguema, was named the interim leader of the central African country shortly after military officers announced they had seized power. Al Jazeera (LR: 2 CP: 1)
• Nguema was "unanimously" appointed Gabon's "Transitional President," according to a TV statement by the coup leaders. They also announced maintaining a curfew imposed four days ago and allowing foreign francophone media to resume broadcasting in Gabon. Novinite.com
• Wednesday's coup came shortly after the country's national election authority announced that incumbent Pres. Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose family ruled Gabon for 55 years, had won a third term in last week's disputed elections. The East African
• Calling themselves the Committee for Transition and the Restoration of Institutions, the coup leaders claimed the ballot was not "transparent, credible, and inclusive," adding that "irresponsible and unpredictable governance" could plunge Gabon into chaos. Punch Newspapers
• According to the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, foreign journalists had been largely restricted from covering the elections that were reportedly held without international observers. France 24
• Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday that the coup in Gabon and the coup in Niger can't be compared as the latter's president was democratically elected, while in Gabon, "it was an institutional coup" after "the elections were stolen." Al Arabiya English

Narrative A:

• Doubts about the fairness of the elections in Gabon may be justified, but a military coup isn't a legitimate means of expressing political discontent. It's absurd for the putschists to claim they want to restore democracy by resorting to undemocratic means. After five coups in Africa in recent years, the one in Gabon is the latest indication of autocracy spreading across the continent. Recent events in Gabon and elsewhere in Africa don't bode well for the continent's political stability.
  Le Monde.fr

Narrative B:

• To claim that the coup in Gabon, following recent overthrows in several other African states, represents the return of dictators and an erosion of democracy is short-sighted. Like the former French colonies of Mali, Burkina Faso, or Niger, oil-rich Gabon was never a truly sovereign country, let alone a democracy. Instead, the events in Gabon are only the latest expression of an awakening continent that no longer wants to be exploited and subjected to political, economic, and military interference.
  African Arguments

Narrative C:

• While the coups in the former French African colonies are interpreted either as anti-democratic upheavals or as an expression of the struggle against neocolonialism, there is another dimension to the events. As in Niger, the US decided it was time to push aside France to expand its influence in the resource-rich region, thereby attempting to contain China's and Russia's growing leverage more effectively.
  Global Research (LR: 3 CP: 1)